Hugh MacPherson
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Direct and mediated effects of treatment context on low back pain outcome: a prospective cohort study Open
Objectives Contextual components of treatment previously associated with patient outcomes include the environment, therapeutic relationship and expectancies. Questions remain about which components are most important, how they influence ou…
View article: Do the effects of acupuncture vary between acupuncturists? Analysis of the Acupuncture Trialists’ Collaboration individual patient data meta-analysis
Do the effects of acupuncture vary between acupuncturists? Analysis of the Acupuncture Trialists’ Collaboration individual patient data meta-analysis Open
Objectives: The degree to which the effects of acupuncture treatment vary between acupuncturists is unknown. We used a large individual patient dataset of trials of acupuncture for chronic pain to assess practitioner heterogeneity. Methods…
The Challenges of Evaluating Specific and Nonspecific Effects in Clinical Trials of Acupuncture for Chronic Pain Open
Background: The Acupuncture Trialists' Collaboration has updated its individual patient data meta-analysis of acupuncture for chronic pain originally published in 2012. The updated meta-analysis, published in 2018, now includes raw trial d…
Paradoxes in Acupuncture Research: Strategies for Moving Forward Open
In November 2007, the Society for Acupuncture Research (SAR) held an international symposium to mark the 10th anniversary of the 1997 NIH Consensus Development Conference on Acupuncture. The symposium presentations revealed the considerabl…
View article: Identifying patients with chronic pain who respond to acupuncture: results from an individual patient data meta-analysis
Identifying patients with chronic pain who respond to acupuncture: results from an individual patient data meta-analysis Open
Background In a recent individual patient data meta-analysis, acupuncture was found to be superior to sham and non-sham controls in patients with chronic pain. It has been suggested that a subgroup of patients has an exceptional response t…
Why Acupuncture Is More Than Just Needling, and the Implications for Research Open
His research exploring the multiple dimensions -beyond the use of needles -in the whole practice of professionals known as ''acupuncturists'' served as grounding data in SAR's recent real-world engagement with multiple stakeholders that in…
Acupuncture for Depression: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Open
Background: Depression is commonly treated with anti-depressant medication and/or psychological interventions. Patients with depression are common users of complementary therapies, such as acupuncture, either as a replacement for, or adjun…
Acupuncture for Chronic Low Back Pain: Recommendations to Medicare/Medicaid from the Society for Acupuncture Research Open
Editor's Note: This column takes our series from the Society for Acupuncture Research (SAR) in a new direction. Recently, the U.S. government's Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a call for public comment related to the…
View article: The Effect of Patient Characteristics on Acupuncture Treatment Outcomes
The Effect of Patient Characteristics on Acupuncture Treatment Outcomes Open
Objectives: To optimally select chronic pain patients for different treatments, as it is of interest to identify patient characteristics that might moderate treatment effect. Our aim was to evaluate the impact of possible moderators on the…
View article: Complementary medicine use, views, and experiences: a national survey in England
Complementary medicine use, views, and experiences: a national survey in England Open
Background In 2005,12% of the English population visited a complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) practitioner. Aim To obtain up-to-date general population figures for practitioner-led CAM use in England, and to discover people's vie…
View article: Scoping review of systematic reviews of complementary medicine for musculoskeletal and mental health conditions
Scoping review of systematic reviews of complementary medicine for musculoskeletal and mental health conditions Open
Objective To identify potentially effective complementary approaches for musculoskeletal (MSK)–mental health (MH) comorbidity, by synthesising evidence on effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and safety from systematic reviews (SRs). Design S…
Self-efficacy and embodiment associated with Alexander Technique lessons or with acupuncture sessions: A longitudinal qualitative sub-study within the ATLAS trial Open
In-depth interviews revealed a rich array of experiences. They gave insight into the positive impact of the interventions on development of self-care, self-efficacy and embodiment. These findings complement the quantitative trial data, pro…
View article: An economic evaluation of Alexander Technique lessons or acupuncture sessions for patients with chronic neck pain: A randomized trial (ATLAS)
An economic evaluation of Alexander Technique lessons or acupuncture sessions for patients with chronic neck pain: A randomized trial (ATLAS) Open
In comparison with usual care, acupuncture is likely to be cost-effective for chronic neck pain, whereas, largely due to higher intervention costs, Alexander lessons are unlikely to be cost-effective. However, there were high levels of mis…
Self-efficacy and self-care-related outcomes following Alexander Technique lessons for people with chronic neck pain in the ATLAS randomised, controlled trial Open
Alexander Technique lessons led to long-term improvements in the way participants lived their daily lives and managed their neck pain. Alexander lessons promote self-efficacy and self-care, with consequent reductions in chronic neck pain.
Cost-effectiveness of adjunct non-pharmacological interventions for osteoarthritis of the knee Open
Using the £20,000 per QALY NICE threshold results in TENS being cost-effective if all trials are considered. If only higher quality trials are considered, acupuncture is cost-effective at this threshold, and thresholds down to £14,000 per …
Lifestyle Advice and Self-Care Integral to Acupuncture Treatment for Patients with Chronic Neck Pain: Secondary Analysis of Outcomes Within a Randomized Controlled Trial Open
Acupuncture-related lifestyle advice helped patients improve the way they live and care for themselves and enhanced self-efficacy and ability to use what they had learnt. These changes were associated with reductions in pain and disability…
View article: Acupuncture for chronic pain and depression in primary care: a programme of research
Acupuncture for chronic pain and depression in primary care: a programme of research Open
Background There has been an increase in the utilisation of acupuncture in recent years, yet the evidence base is insufficiently well established to be certain about its clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness. Addressing the questio…
The persistence of the effects of acupuncture after a course of treatment: a meta-analysis of patients with chronic pain Open
There is uncertainty regarding how long the effects of acupuncture treatment persist after a course of treatment. We aimed to determine the trajectory of pain scores over time after acupuncture, using a large individual patient data set fr…
Methods for network meta-analysis of continuous outcomes using individual patient data: a case study in acupuncture for chronic pain Open
The network meta-analysis of individual patient data using the analysis of covariance approach is advocated to be the most appropriate modelling approach for network meta-analysis of continuous outcomes, particularly in the presence of bas…
Non-specific mechanisms in orthodox and CAM management of low back pain (MOCAM): theoretical framework and protocol for a prospective cohort study Open
Introduction Components other than the active ingredients of treatment can have substantial effects on pain and disability. Such ‘non-specific’ components include: the therapeutic relationship, the healthcare environment, incidental treatm…
Acupuncture for Irritable Bowel Syndrome: 2-Year Follow-Up of a Randomised Controlled Trial Open
Background A recent randomised controlled trial (RCT) of acupuncture as a treatment for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) demonstrated sustained benefits over a period of 12 months post-randomisation. Aim To extend the trial follow-up to eval…
Unanticipated Insights into Biomedicine from the Study of Acupuncture Open
Research into acupuncture has had ripple effects beyond the field of acupuncture. This paper identifies five exemplars to illustrate that there is tangible evidence of the way insights gleaned from acupuncture research have informed biomed…