Empowering Acupuncturists to Cooperate with Oncologists
Creators: name: University Of California Office Of The President
Publisher: name: University of California Office of the President
publisherIdentifier: https://ror.org/00dmfq477
publisherIdentifierScheme: ROR
Year: 2024

description: The aim of this project is to enhance provision of health services for breast cancer patients by developing an educational program that will empower acupuncturists to coordinate services with oncology clinicians treating the same patients. A NIH-convened consensus conference declared acupuncture to be an effective remedy for chemo-induced nausea/vomiting and there is additional evidence that acupuncture can be used to manage a range of other symptoms. The majority of breast cancer patients see acupuncturists and other complementary and alternative (CAM) medicine providers; they prefer providers to coordinate health services, though as of yet such coordination seldom exists. Acupuncturists desire to learn more about patient care coordination and oncologists prefer written letters of communication. To develop specific letter-writing strategies, there first needs to be an understanding of the common symptoms addressed and treatments provided by acupuncturists to breast cancer patients.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 The central hypotheses of the research are: 
 
 
 
 -There are commonalities in the symptoms addressed and treatments 
 
 provided by acupuncturists to breast cancer patients.
 
 -Different acupuncturists encounter similar barriers in patient care 
 
 coordination with oncology professionals. These hypotheses will be examined 
 
 with the assistance of an expert advisory board comprised of leaders from 
 
 the acupuncture profession, patients with breast cancer, and leaders from 
 
 the oncology community.
 
 
 
 We will interview a random sample of approximately 100 acupuncturists who treat more than one breast cancer patient a month in a face-to-face, semi-structured format. Data will be analyzed according to a conventional technique (grounded analysis). Working with acupuncture leaders we will develop coordination recommendations. We will then seek feedback on these recommendations from 25 breast cancer patients and 25 oncologist professionals with different opinions on the topic. Data will also be analyzed with grounded analysis. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 We will then develop an educational program to disseminate the final recommendations under the guidance of a multi-disciplinary team of oncology, acupuncture, government, and community leaders with relevant professional experience. The program will also include follow-up web-based components. The educational program will be piloted to three focus groups, one composed of acupuncturists, one of oncology clinicians, and one of breast cancer patients. When the program is finished, an experienced facilitator will lead a discussion to gather feedback for further refinement of the program content and format.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 The study goes beyond the conventional oncology community of acupuncturists whom breast cancer patients are already seeking out to improve their quality of life. We will work with acupuncture leaders to craft recommendations about writing letters of communication to oncology clinicians, drawing upon medical literature on this topic and advice from patients and oncology leaders. Additional innovative elements of the project include the breadth and depth of the advisory board; the multi-method educational approach that will include web-based experiences; and the commitment by the acupuncture community to assist in disseminating the results throughout the profession. This project will begin the process of facilitating acupuncturists and oncology professionals to improve health services coordination, which experts see as directly leading to improvements in quality of care.