The Use of Evidence in Acupuncture Clinical Practice

This paper reports on a qualitative study of beginner acupuncture clinicians’ experiences of clinical practice. An analysis of the 42 interview transcripts revealed that these practitioners relied primarily upon traditional, experiential and reflexive knowledge in clinical decisionmaking. None of the practitioners interviewed used evidence arising from formal research in clinical practice decision-making. A subsequent review of acupuncture research reports showed that most acupuncture research had been undertaken to prove the therapeutic efficacy of acupuncture rather than generate knowledge that could be used to inform clinical decisionmaking. This paper suggests that the dominant acupuncture research emphasis of proving therapeutic efficacy, compounded with a paucity of research-generated knowledge relevant to acupuncture clinical decision-making, has been detrimental to the development of evidencebased acupuncture practice. The paper proposes that partnerships between researchers and practitioners are essential in developing research that informs practice, improves the quality of practice and leads to the heightened use of evidence in acupuncture clinical decision-making. K E y w o R D S acupuncture, evidence-based practice, clinical practice, research.