Wheatley - Ear Accupuncture For Drug Rehabilitation

Question 1

What is acupuncture based on the belief of?

Answer 1

It is based on the belief that flowing through the body is a kind of energy called qi/chi which flows through paths called meridians

Question 2

What does acupuncture aim to do?

Answer 2

Re-establish the free flow of qi by inserting ultra-fine sterile needles into specific acupuncture points to restore balance and trigger the body’s natural healing response

Question 3

How is ear acupuncture supposed to treat substance abuse?

Answer 3

It involves stimulating key points in the ear to reduce cravings for drugs in the brain

Question 4

What was the aim of the Wheatley study?

Answer 4

To assess the effectiveness of ear acupuncture in treating substance abuse of prisoners

Question 5

What was the sample of the Wheatley study?

Answer 5

350 prisoners in six high-security prisons

Question 6

What were the 2 groups in the Wheatley study?

Answer 6

A group who received acupuncture and the standard care programme (FOCUS) and a control group who did not receive acupuncture but did get the standard care programme

Question 7

How many trained practitioners were used and how many prisoners did they work with?

Answer 7

Two trained practitioners who worked with groups of 10-15 prisoners in a relaxed setting

Question 8

How many needles were inserted into acupuncture points in the prisoners ears?

Answer 8

5 acupuncture sites

Question 9

How long did prisoners relax for while they we given the acupuncture treatment?

Answer 9

A 40 minute period

Question 10

What sort of data was collected?

Answer 10

Qualitative and quantitative

Question 11

What were some of the prisoners reported improvements in wellbeing?

Answer 11

Better sleep, improved relaxation, better coping skills and reduced cravings for nicotine

Question 12

Name two other qualitative results?

Answer 12

The prisoners made more effort to communicate with their families and attend classes and the staff commented that they could tell when the prisoners had been to acupuncture because the wing was calmer and there was less demand for healthcare services

Question 13

What percentage reduction was there in drug related incidents?

Answer 13

70%

Question 14

What percentage reduction was there in serious incident reports?

Answer 14

41%

Question 15

What percentage reduction was there in positive drug testing results?

Answer 15

42%

Question 16

What conclusions did Wheatley make from his study?

Answer 16

That there is enough evidence for the effectiveness of ear acupuncture to expand the delivery of the programme throughout the prison system and that acupuncture works as a complementary therapy with other programmes

Question 17

How does research conducted by Gates et al contradict the results of Wheatley’s study?

Answer 17

He reviewed several studies with a total of 1433 participants who were cocaine addicts and compared the genuine acupuncture with sham acupuncture (where needles were placed randomly in the ear) and he found no significant effect for the acupuncture

Question 18

How many offenders flow into prisons in the UK each year, and how many of those have a substance misuse problem?

Answer 18

Around 130,000 offenders flow into prisons in the UK each year and 70,000 inmates have a substance misuse problem