Survey on Parents' Expectations and Concerns about Pediatric Acupuncture and Moxibustion
- VernacularTitle:小児鍼灸に対する保護者の期待と不安に関する意識調査 小児マッサージとの比較から
- Author:
Yosuke FUJITA
1
;
Michie OSHIMA
2
;
Akinori HIRAI
3
;
Hideki SAITO
3
;
Ayumi SAKAMOTO
4
Author Information
- Keywords: pediatric acupuncture and Moxibustion; awareness survey; massage; expectations; anxiety
- From:Journal of the Japan Society of Acupuncture and Moxibustion 2024;74(4):293-301
- CountryJapan
- Language:Japanese
- Abstract: [Objective] In Japan, pediatric acupuncture and moxibustion are practiced mainly in the Kansai region, and the influence of treatment experience by close relatives has been suggested to influence the treatment behavior. On the other hand, the rate of acupuncture and moxibustion treatment in Japan has been declining, and the nuclear family is also increasing. Based on the above, we decided to conduct an awareness survey of parents regarding their expectations and concerns about pediatric acupuncture in order to understand the issues involved in receiving pediatric acupuncture treatment.[Subjects and Methods] The survey was conducted from May to December 2016 among 50 parents who participated in a self-care workshop for children and their parents held in Tokyo. The survey was a questionnaire, in which the parents' age, gender, relationship with their children, employment status and childcare support status, and age and gender of their children were ascertained. Massage was also used as a control, and a five-item method was used with acupuncture and massage as independent variables and expectations and anxiety as dependent variables. Expectations consisted of eight items related to symptoms, such as 『childhood neurosis and asthma』, and five items related to general questions, such as 『disease prevention and relaxation』. Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to compare acupuncture and massage.[Results] Respondents were 35.0 years old (median), 92% were women, 94% were mothers, 98% were nuclear families, 46% were working parents, 44% were housewives/househusbands, 68% had concerns about childcare, and 92% had someone to talk to about childcare. The children were 1 year (median) and 50% were girls, 48% were boys, and 94% were singletons. In expectation, the scores for each item were high for both acupuncture and massage (3.0-4.6 points: mean), and there was no significant difference between the two. For anxiety, acupuncture and moxibustion scored significantly higher than massage in terms of worsening symptoms, hygiene, and effectiveness.[Discussion and Conclusion] The parents of health-conscious children attending the workshop had high expectations for pediatric acupuncture and massage, but were more concerned about worsening symptoms, hygiene, and effectiveness of acupuncture and moxibustion compared to massage. Based on the above, we believe that acupuncture and moxibustion practitioners updating and complying with information on findings and safety measures and disseminating this information to the public at large will lead to further promotion of the behavior of receiving acupuncture and moxibustion treatment.
