Understanding the Practice of Acupuncture with Women with Fertility Problems; A Qualitative Approach

摘要

As part of the development of an acupuncture protocol for a randomised controlled trial (RCT) to enhance female fertility, experienced practitioners were interviewed to explore what factors they considered to be important components to their acupuncture practice with women with fertility problems. The interviews were wide-ranging and an analysis of the discussion generated a series of questions that were then put to a broader focus group of experts in the field. The extracts of the interviews presented here also raise other issues about how acupuncture is practised and the implications of this for acupuncturists - such as the complexity of the acupuncture therapeutic engagement, the specialist knowledge necessary for work in fertility, and the self-nurturing required by the acupuncturist to sustain practice. More exploration into the nature of acupuncture practice requires increased use of qualitative research methods,