Introduction: Article summary
The article covers a research study conducted to investigate the shifts in expectation among patients receiving yoga, acupuncture, chiropractic, and massage therapy for the treatment of chronic low back pain. Treatment remedies included several types of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). The main objective of the study was to establish a relationship between the outcomes of treatment remedies and patient expectations throughout the course of the study. The study comprised 64 participants who underwent three main CAM therapies, including yoga, massage, acupuncture, and chiropractic. The study lasted for a period of three months, during which participants were interviewed at different intervals, and their shifts in expectations were recorded. The data collected was analyzed and checked against patient expectations ranging from pain relief to enhanced physical function. Among the study sample, 15 received chiropractic therapy, 13 received massage therapy, 18 received acupuncture therapy, and 18 received yoga therapy. The findings of the study revealed that the expectations of participants changed over time throughout the course of the study. Before commencement of the study, patient expectations included whether therapy could or could not relieve pain and enhance physical participation in certain activities. Over the course of the study, participants’ expectations shifted to increase awareness, acceptance of their situations, and the willingness to apply certain strategies for improved overall wellbeing.
Type of study
The article includes a qualitative research study that aimed to establish a correlation between CAM therapies and patient expectations regarding their outcomes. The article’s target audience includes CAM practitioners and researchers who are interested in understanding the correlation between patient expectations and the outcome of different treatment therapies. On the other hand, it also targets patients suffering from chronic back pain who are undergoing CAM therapy. The findings of the study can help patients shift their expectations to improve the outcomes of various therapy treatments.
The article was easy to understand because it was written using simple language and a format that presented the information systematically. The authors avoided using difficult medical vocabulary. In addition, the format of the article makes it easy to understand because it is arranged in sections and sub-sections that cover different parts of the study. Moreover, the authors include a comprehensive introduction that explores the topic and its relationship to research studies conducted in the past. This introduction makes it easy for the reader to understand the topic, its scope, and its objectives.
Interesting facts
There are several interesting facts that can be found in the article. First, the authors use the study to reveal that the application of complementary and alternative medicine reduces chronic back pain. CAM therapies such as yoga, acupuncture, and massage aid in the reduction of chronic low back pain and improve patients’ internal health locus of control (Eaves, Sherman, Ritenbaugh, Hsu, Nichter, Turner, & Cherkin, 2015). Secondly, the article states that patients’ expectations play a key role in determining the outcomes of various CAM therapies during treatment. This is an interesting fact because this knowledge can be applied in nursing practice to make CAM care more efficacious and to achieve more positive and satisfactory health outcomes. Third, the results of the study revealed the numerous benefits of CAM care that augment the role it plays in the reduction of chronic low back pain. For instance, it helps patients to create awareness regarding the importance of maintaining their health, gain a high sense of internal health locus of control, increase acceptance and awareness regarding their pain and its long-term implications on their lives (Lucas, 2006). CAM care also helped patients to develop strategies to improve their overall wellbeing in order to manage their situations more effectively.
Significance of information
The article contains many pieces of important information that can improve nursing practice. For the example, the aforementioned three facts can be applied in the provision of nursing care to achieve better outcomes and improve the overall patient wellbeing. On the other hand, the information can be applied in the development of CAM care variations that cater to patients’ different health needs (Stannard, Kalso, & Ballantyne, 2011). The article provides the reader with a lot of useful information. Therefore, I can recommend it to other students. On the other hand, the article can serve as a guide for further research on the topic of the relationship between CAM care and patients’ expectations with regard to health outcomes. The article made me want to find out more about the topic because it was inconclusive, and it did not cover sufficient literature from past studies.
Conclusion
CAM care is an important concept used in the nursing practice. For example, CAM therapies such as yoga, massage, and acupuncture are used to treat chronic back pain. The foregoing review covers a qualitative research study that was conducted to establish a correlation between patient expectations and the outcomes of four different CAM therapies. The expectation that the therapies could lessen pain and improve health outcomes played an important role in enhancing the efficacy of the therapies. The information contained in the article can be applied in the nursing practice and can also be used as a guide for further studies.
References
Eaves, E. R., Sherman, K. J., Ritenbaugh, C., Hsu, C., Nichter, M., Turner, J. A., & Cherkin, D. C. (2015). A Qualitative Study of Changes in Expectations over Time Among Patients with Chronic Low Back Pain Seeking Four Cam Therapies. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine 15(12), 1-10.
Lucas, A. (2006). Frontiers in Pain Research. New York, NY: Nova Publishers.
Stannard, C., Kalso, E., & Ballantyne, J. (2011). Evidence-Based Chronic Pain Management. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons.