Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health
Volume 14, Issue 3, 2012, Pages 433-440

Acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine for survivors of torture and refugee trauma: A descriptive report (Article)

Highfield E.S.* , Lama P. , Grodin M.A. , Kaptchuk T.J. , Crosby S.S.
  • a Department of Family Medicine, Boston University, School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118, United States
  • b Boston University, School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02118, United States
  • c Department of Health Law, Bioethics and Human Rights, Boston University, School of Public Health, Boston, MA, United States, Department of Family Medicine and Psychiatry, Boston University, School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118, United States
  • d Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, United States
  • e Department of Medicine, Boston University, School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118, United States

Abstract

Refugees with trauma histories are a difficult medical population to treat. Acupuncture care has gained acceptance in many mainstream hospitals in the United States, but research on acupuncture and refugee populations is limited. Herein, we report our experiences with 50 refugees (total acupuncture treatments = 425) at a major tertiary teaching hospital. Patients often reported extreme trauma including physical torture, rape and witnessing the same in family members. Patients represented 13 different countries, with about half the patients being Somali. The primary complaint of all patients was pain (100%). Using the Wong-Baker Faces Pain scale, 56% patients reported pain decreases. Patient acceptance of acupuncture was high. We provide three case histories as illustrative examples. Further research is warranted. © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2011.

Author Keywords

Trauma survivor Complementary and alternative medicine acupuncture Refugee Integrative medicine

Index Keywords

refugee psychological aspect Wounds and Injuries human Refugees survivor middle aged statistics Survivors injury Stress, Psychological mental stress pain Adaptation, Psychological alternative medicine chronic disease United States acupuncture Humans male Medicine, Chinese Traditional Chinese medicine female adaptive behavior victim Psychometrics psychometry Article adult posttraumatic stress disorder Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic Complementary Therapies Torture Crime Victims
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84860835215&doi=10.1007%2fs10903-011-9538-6&partnerID=40&md5=20cd41ec64652a78858859c6d3edc3fe
DOI: 10.1007/s10903-011-9538-6
ISSN: 15571912
Cited by: 9
Original Language: English