Bier and colleagues conducted a significant study wherein acupuncture-education combination was tested for smoke cessation. They pointed out that a lot of research was conducted due to the public health importance of smoking. Further research on the use of acupuncture as smoking cessation treatment requires a higher-quality studies wherein hypotheses should be clear, sample size should be statistically significant, randomization method should be appropriate and bias should be minimized. Furthermore, highly trained and acupuncturists are needed in this type of study.
For the methods, participants are screened appropriately. This is highly significant to avoid factors such as illiteracy, use of addictive drugs and mental disorders. The sample population was divided into 3 treatment groups: 1.) true acupuncture treatment 2.) true acupuncture treatment plus 5 weeks of an educational cessation program and 3.) sham acupuncture treatment plus 5 weeks of an educational program.
The Research paper on Patient Case Study
Patient case study. Part I: I would like to start by saying that AIDS is a short form for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. It is a disease that damages the body's immune system (the system that helps fight off illnesses). When a person's immune system is damaged, he or she is more likely to become sick from illnesses that might not hurt a person who has a healthy immune system. The person's ...
Acupuncture treatment was performed by professional acupuncturists from China with a diploma from the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) score, Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) score and visual analogue scale (VAS) score are among the dependent variables that were used to assess the severity of depression, assess level of cravings and measures variables such as appetite, respectively. The methods conformed to the guidelines of the manual for clean needle technique for acupuncturists to reduce the risk of contamination, protecting the participants’ safety and comfort.
The educational program, on the other hand, consist of several techniques that could be an effective approach to smoking cessation such as behavioral training, education, social support and relapse prevention. The hypotheses were clearly stated and obtained at the end of the research study despite the incidence of drop out of some participants though it still affect the statistical significance of the sample size. Results showed that the randomization was successful and the study demonstrated that acupuncture-education combination is effective for smoke cessation and reduction to cigarette consumption (40%) almost twice effective as that of sham acupuncture with education (22%) and four times effective that that of acupuncture alone.
This combination also demonstrated that it is 40% effective for cessation and 53% effective for reduction of cigarette consumption as compared to treating with medicine and behavioral support against nicotine addiction which has 20%-25% effectiveness rate. Moreover, the study also indicated that the treatment was most effective for participants with higher pack-year history than those with lower pack-year history.
Overall, the study conducted was successful and is quite significant with regards to public health combat against nicotine addiction. The study clearly stated the limitation of the work. In addition to this, other than the self-rating scale, assessment methods and biochemical validation that are not subjective or bias should also be considered. The lifestyle and medical history of each participant should also have been included in the dependent variable. Follow-up should be more than 18 years, extending over at least 3 years to monitor possible relapse.
The Research paper on Interventions For The Cessation Of Smoking
Smoking is the largest single preventable cause of death and disease in Australia. With an increase in public awareness and research, prevalence of smoking is slowly making a decline. (Quit Victoria, 1995) Interventions are used to aid people with the cessation of smoking, and through either independent quitting or using the help of programs around 150, 000 Australians successfully quit smoking ...
The study should also provide some possible reasons for the high rate of dropouts that could be relevant for the future studies. For the discussion, the mechanism of action of acupuncture with regards to smoke cessation should also have been discussed, whether its effect could have been a placebo effect, psychosomatic or some scientific or medical explanation in relieving withdrawal symptoms and aiding smoking cessation. Discussions with regards to withdrawal reaction should have been elaborated in this study.
Among the other issues that are needed to be discussed is the availability of professional acupuncturists, cost, frequency and duration of acupuncture and education programs as compared to other quit-smoking treatments such as pharmacological adjuncts, aversion therapies, hypnotherapy exercise and others.
Reference
Bier I.D., Wilson J., Studt P., Shackleton M. (2002).
Auricular Acupuncture, Education, and Smoking Cessation: A Randomized, Sham-Controlled Trial. American Journal of Public Health. Oct., 92: 10.
Orleans T., Slade J. (1993).
Nicotine Addiction: Principles and Management. Oxford University Press.
