New England School of Acupuncture

Background: Biofield Therapies, with a historical lineage spanning millennia and continuing relevance in contemporary practices, have been used to address various health conditions and promote wellbeing. The scientific study and adoption of these therapies have been hindered by cultural challenges and institutional barriers. In addition, the current research landscape for Biofield Therapies is insufficiently documented. Objectives: This scoping review aims to comprehensively document the peer-reviewed research landscape of Biofield Therapies. Furthermore, an online searchable and dynamic Evidence Map was created to serve as a publicly accessible tool for querying the evidence base, pinpointing research gaps, and identifying areas requiring further exploration. Methods: A systematic search of PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, and PsycInfo databases was conducted from inception through January 2024. Peer-reviewed interventional studies in English involving human participants receiving Biofield Therapy were included. Data on study design, population, intervention, comparator, outcomes, citation details, and direction of results reported were extracted and synthesized into two summary tables and three data tables. Results: In total, 353 studies in 352 published reports were included: 255 randomized controlled trials, 36 controlled clinical trials, and 62 pre-post study designs. Named biofield interventions included Reiki (n = 88), Therapeutic Touch (n = 71), Healing Touch (n = 31), intercessory prayer (n = 21), External Qigong (n = 16), Spiritual Healing/Spiritual Passé/Laying-on-of-hands (n = 14), "distant or remote healing" (n = 10), and Gentle Human Touch/Yakson Therapeutic Touch (n = 9). Also included were 56 studies in 55 reports involving bespoke, unknown, or other interventions, 20 studies involving multimodal interventions, and 17 studies involving multiple biofield interventions. Studies encompassed a wide variety of populations, most commonly healthy volunteers (n = 67), pain (n = 55), and cancer (n = 46). As reported in the Abstracts, nearly half of the studies (n = 172) reported positive results in favor of the Biofield Therapy for all outcomes being investigated, 95 reported mixed results, 71 reported nonsignificant results, 3 reported negative results, and 12 studies did not report the direction of results. Conclusions: Despite rising interest in Biofield Therapies among researchers, practitioners, and patients, the integration of these interventions into allopathic medical systems is hindered by challenges in researching these therapies and inconsistent reporting. These issues contribute to inconclusive findings, which limit our understanding of the efficacy of Biofield Therapies for specific conditions. The resulting scoping review and interactive Evidence Map aim to empower stakeholders to overcome these obstacles, thereby strengthening the evidence for the potential adoption of Biofield Therapies as future integrative care options in allopathic medicine.

Without parameters to carry out personnel dimensioning, to maintain or expand the composition of a management team of integrative practices in public health, this is the first article to present the systematization of the work processes of this type of team, the outline of the steps of identification and prioritization of processes, observation of the current effort by the result, From the vision of the team, and verification of the type of improvement solution for each process, first step to a future sizing of personnel. The methodology described by the Ministry of Health for administrative areas was used. 17 work processes were systematized, all identified by the team with a high level of added value. To improve processes, the need to invest in people was the most frequent, followed by process optimization. The overall result indicated great complexity associated with the work of the team, which has intersectoral actions and great scope of action in the network, at the three levels of health care. The intervention carried out, followed by records and monitoring of activities and results over time, can assist the current and future management of the workforce for integrative practice management teams.

L'objectif de l'essai est d'étudier l'imbrication dans les œuvres de Bufalino entre les multiples strates d'une forte instance autobiographique, les éléments théâtraux presque toujours présents dans les textes et la relation entre l'instance narrative et la thématisation de l'écriture. Il est ainsi confirmé que chaque texte de Bufalino exprime, de manière différente mais toujours fascinante, les formes de désorientation cognitive que l'homme du XXe siècle a connues avec une conscience croissante.

Introduction: Migraine is a common neurological disorders that typically manifests with repeated episodes of unilateral frequent throbbing headaches. Globally, the prevalence of migraine is around 10%. Despite the wide variety of pharmacological medications, patients still experience frequent attacks or are unable to get complete relief from the prescribed medications. Conventional and laser acupuncture are alternative therapeutic treatment modalities that have been widely used for people with migraine. The purpose of this study was to review the collective evidence on the role of acupuncture in alleviating the symptoms of migraine. Methods: A scoping review of current literature was performed. The inclusion criteria for including interventions in this study were: (a) published in English language between 2013 and January 2018; (b) indexed in MEDLINE/PubMed, CINAHL, AltHealthWatch, and SCOPUS; (c) quantitative evaluations of acupuncture as a modality of treatment; (d) original, peer-reviewed research articles; and (e) utilized patients diagnosed with migraine. Results: A total of 23 interventions with a combined total of 1,714 study participants met the inclusion criteria. Findings indicate that acupuncture is a promising approach in the treatment of migraines accompanied with or without an aura. Limitations of this review included varied dosage of acupuncture among different studies, small sample sizes, and lack of behavioral theory-based approaches in promoting this modality. Discussion and Conclusion: The present evidence indicates that acupuncture may provide symptomatic relief and improvement in quality of life among migraine patients. It has a promising role as an adjuvant to conventional drug therapy. More randomized controlled trials for efficacy and effectiveness testing are needed.

Stress and anxiety are experienced by health care providers as a consequence of caregiving and may result in physical, emotional, and psychological outcomes that negatively impact work engagement. The purpose of this study was to determine whether auricular acupuncture can reduce provider anxiety and improve work engagement. Study participants received 5 auricular acupuncture sessions within a 16-week period utilizing the National Acupuncture Detoxification Association protocol for treating emotional trauma. Each participant completed the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES-9) prior to their first session and again after their fifth treatment. Significant reductions were found in state and trait anxiety (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory), as well as significant increases in the overall scores on the UWES as compared with baseline. Only the dedication subcategory of the UWES showed significant improvement. Engagement has been linked to increased productivity and well-being and improved patient and organizational outcomes. Providing effective strategies such as auricular acupuncture to support health care providers in reducing anxiety in the workplace may improve engagement.

Anatomical dissection has begun to reveal striking similarities between gross anatomical structures and the system of nomenclature used in traditional Chinese acupuncture. This paper argues that acupuncture point nomenclature is rooted in systematic anatomical investigation of cadaveric specimens, and that acupuncture points and meridians are purposefully named to reflect observable physical form. Two types of evidence are compared: observations of physical structures based on anatomical dissection, and translation and analysis of original Chinese texts. Evidence is contextualized through in-depth practical understanding of acupuncture. Points designated as [Chinese character] tian (heavenly/superior), [Chinese character] xia (below/inferior), [Chinese character] liao (bone-hole), [Chinese character] fei (flying), [Chinese character] wei (bend), and [Chinese character] xi (mountain stream/ravine) are investigated. These acupuncture point names: (a) specify position; (b) reflect function and/or form; (c) indicate homologous structures; (d) mark unusual structures; and/or (e) describe the physical appearance of a deep (dissected) structure by likening it to a homologous everyday object. Results raise intriguing possibilities for developing an understanding of acupuncture points and meridians firmly based in the material and functional anatomy of the human body. Such an understanding has the potential to open new fields of thought about functional anatomy. It also has implications for future investigations into the mechanisms of acupuncture, and gives some insights into the possible origins of this iconic area of Chinese medicine.