Dovepress Table 1 Experimental group facets and total score descriptive statistics Facet 1 Facet 2 Facet 3 Facet 4 Mean 17.78 17.22 16.06 16.00 SD 2.39 1.70 2.55 2.68 % Mean 86.13 82.63 75.38 75.00 S-W 0.002 0.123 0.301 0.160 Abbreviations: SD, standard deviation; S-W, Shapiro–Wilk normality test P value; TS, total score. Elderly quality of life and traditional Chinese medicine Facet 5 15.44 3.50 71.50 0.090 Facet 6 15.67 2.35 73.00 0.469 TS 16.36 1.69 77.25 0.312 Data analysis Descriptive statistical techniques were used: mean standard deviations. The Shapiro–Wilk test was used to check the normality of the distribution (ie, Gaussian or not). In conse- quence, for the intergroup comparison, the Student t test (for independent samples) and the Mann–Whitney U test were used to analyze the P value for the facets plus total scores. The significance level utilized was 95% (P , 0.05). The statistical results were presented in tables and graphs created by the Microsoft Excel® and IBM SPSS 17.0 programs. Results Experimental group The empirical evaluation of elderly QOL, as facets and total scores, is presented in Table 1. The TS was supported by facets 2, 3, 4 and 6. Score 5 (death and dying) reduced, and score 1 (sensorial functioning) raised the TS (Table 1). Control group Facets 1 (sensorial functioning) and 3 (future present and past activities) supported the total score, while facets 2 (autonomy) and 4 (social participation) reduced the mean, and facets 5 (death and dying) and 6 (intimacy) raised it (Table 2). Experimental versus control group The Shapiro–Wilk test was used to check the normality of the distribution. In consequence, for the intergroup comparison, the Student t test for independent samples (a parametric test) was applied to facets 2, 4, 5, 6, and TS, while the Mann–Whitney U test (the strongest non-parametric test for independent samples) was applied to facets 1 and 3 (which did not present normality at P , 0.05), both tests aiming to analyze the P values for the facets and total scores between the experimental and control groups. For facets 1, 2, and 4, and the TS, there was a statistically significant difference. The scores for the experimental group showed a significant tendency towards a superior QOL. For the other facets (3, 5, and 6), there was no significant dif- ference (Table 3). The QOL total score and the QOL facet values of the experimental group were higher than those of the control group. Facet 1 (sensorial functioning) and facet 6 (intimacy) were respectively the highest QOL values in both the experimental and the control groups. The overall result of this research was that the experi- mental group reported the highest QOL in every individual facet, and in the total score. Discussion TCM is a great tradition with a sound philosophical, experiential, and experimental basis. Increased side-effects of conventional medicine, the lack of curative treatment for several chronic diseases, the high cost of new drugs, microbial resistance, and emerging diseases are among the reasons for the renewed public interest in TCM.2 Many patients seek TCM techniques specifically for acupuncture treatment, which is reported to be helpful in some cases.18 Studies are expanding to assess the effectiveness of TCM as a treatment option.19,20 The unique characteristics of the clinical practice of TCM, such as pattern differentiation and individualization of treatment, make it difficult to translate its models.21 Table 2 Control group facets and total score descriptive statistics Facet 1 Facet 2 Facet 3 Facet 4 Mean 13.62 13.10 14.24 13.48 SD 0.61 0.57 0.62 0.63 % Mean 60.13 56.88 64.00 59.25 S-W 0.483 0.528 0.038 0.936 Abbreviations: SD, standard deviation; S-W, Shapiro–Wilk normality test P value; TS, total score. Clinical Interventions in Aging 2010:5 Facet 5 13.52 0.92 59.50 0.126 Facet 6 15.29 0.64 70. 56 0.124 submit your manuscript | www.dovepress.com Dovepress TS 13.87 0.34 61.69 0.526 303