Utilization Pattern of Acupuncture and Its Associated Predictors for Cancer Pain in South Korea: A Cross-Sectional Study
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Methods
2.1. Study Design
2.2. Ethical Approval and Informed Consent
2.3. Study Population
2.4. Outcomes
2.5. Exposure
2.6. Statistical Analyses
3. Results
3.1. Baseline Characteristic Comparison Between Acupuncture Users and Non-Users
3.2. Predictors of Acupuncture Use
3.3. Comparison of Expectations and Barriers of Acupuncture Across Patient Characteristics
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Supplementary Materials
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Characteristics | Total (N = 201) N (%) | ACU User (N = 162) N (%) | Non-ACU Users (N = 39) N (%) | p |
---|---|---|---|---|
Sex | 0.49 | |||
Male | 58 (28.9) | 45 (27.8) | 13 (33.3) | |
Female | 143 (71.1) | 117 (72.2) | 26 (66.7) | |
Age | 0.89 | |||
≤60 | 105 (52.3) | 85 (52.5) | 20 (51.3) | |
>60 | 96 (47.8) | 77 (47.5) | 19 (48.8) | |
Education level | 0.85 | |||
≤High school | 92 (45.8) | 74 (45.7) | 18 (47.4) a | |
>High school | 108 (53.7) | 88 (54.3) | 20 (52.6) a | |
Missing | 1 (0.4) | - | - | |
Employment status | 0.58 | |||
Employed | 71 (35.3) | 56 (35.7) a | 15 (40.5) a | |
Not employed | 123 (61.2) | 101 (64.3) a | 22 (59.5) a | |
Missing | 7 (3.4) | - | - | |
Income | 0.38 † | |||
KRW ≤ 5 million | 135 | 112 (69.6) a | 23 (62.2) a | |
KRW > 5 million | 63 | 49 (30.4) a | 14 (37.8) a | |
Missing | 3 | - | - | |
Cancer type | ||||
Breast | 46 (22.0) | 39 (24.1) | 7 (17.9) | 0.95 |
Lung | 22 (10.9) | 18 (11.1) | 4 (10.3) | 0.65 |
GI b | 40 (19.9) | 35 (21.6) | 5 (12.8) | 0.63 |
GYN c | 23 (11.4) | 20 (12.3) | 3 (7.7) | 0.78 |
Others d | 66 (32.8) | 55 (33.9) | 11(28.2) | 0.63 |
Cancer treatments received | ||||
Surgery | 147 (73.1) | 125 (77.2) | 22 (56.4) | 0.90 |
Chemotherapy | 95 (47.3) | 78 (48.1) | 17 (43.6) | 0.26 † |
Radiation | 55 (27.4) | 46 (28.4) | 9 (23.1) | 0.73 |
Immunotherapy | 53 (26.4) | 46 (28.4) | 7 (17.9) | 0.67 |
Others | 32 (15.9) | 28 (17.3) | 4 (10.3) | 0.67 |
Pain medication use in last 7 days | 0.082 † | |||
Yes | 117 (58.2) | 102 (64.2) a | 15 (51.7) a | |
No | 71 (35.3) | 57 (35.8) a | 14 (48.3) a | |
Missing | 13 (6.4%) | - | - | |
Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) | ||||
Pain severity mean (SD) | 3.03 (1.73) | 3.15 (1.68) | 2.53 (1.84) | 0.56 † |
Pain interference mean (SD) | 3.47 (2.27) | 3.49 (2.24) | 3.45 (2.44) | 0.62 † |
Acupuncture Usage | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Coefficient | OR | 95% CI | p | |
Income | ||||
≤5 million KRW | 0 | 1 | Reference | |
>5 million KRW | 0.3 | 1.35 | 0.62–2.95 | 0.45 |
Chemotherapy | ||||
Yes | 0 | 1 | Reference | |
No | 0.61 | 1.85 | 0.85–4.06 | 0.12 |
Pain medication use | ||||
Yes | 0 | 1 | Reference | |
No | −0.46 | 0.63 | 0.29–1.39 | 0.25 |
Pain severity | 0.42 | 1.53 | 1.10–2.12 | 0.01 * |
Pain interference | −0.18 | 0.83 | 0.66–1.05 | 0.11 |
Item | Acu Users, Mean (SD) | Non-acu Users, Mean (SD) | p-Value | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Treatment concern | Acupuncture treatments are not based on scientific research | 1.91 (1.0) | 2.37 (1.1) | 0.017 * |
Acupuncture may interfere with the conventional cancer treatment | 1.78 (0.9) | 2.86 (1.1) | 0.001 * | |
Acupuncture treatment may have side effects | 2.20 (1.1) | 2.67 (1.1) | 0.025 * | |
Acupuncture needle is painful | 3.07 (1.3) | 3.08 (1.1) | 0.956 | |
Logistical barrier | Acupuncture treatments cost too much money | 1.90 (1.1) | 2.82 (1.1) | 0.001 * |
It is hard to find good acupuncturists | 2.48 (1.4) | 3.23 (1.2) | 0.003 * | |
I don’t have enough time to get acupuncture treatment | 2.21 (1.3) | 2.61 (1.2) | 0.042 * | |
I don’t have knowledge about acupuncture treatment | 2.59 (1.3) | 3.3 (1.4) | 0.001 * | |
Acupuncture treatments are not covered by my insurance | 2.25 (1.4) | 2.97 (1.3) | 0.005 * | |
I don’t have transportation to acupuncture treatments | 1.77 (1.2) | 2.33 (1.3) | 0.010 * | |
Social norm | My family encourages me to use acupuncture for pain | 4.05 (0.9) | 3.23 (1.2) | 0.001 * |
My healthcare providers encourage me to use acupuncture | 3.78 (1.2) | 3.23 (1.2) | 0.008 * | |
My healthcare providers are open to my use of acupuncture | 3.95 (1.1) | 3.51 (1.2) | 0.036 * | |
Other cancer patients think I should use acupuncture | 3.55 (0.9) | 3.08 (1.0) | 0.005 * | |
My online support group encourages me to use acupuncture | 3.23 (0.9) | 2.95 (1.0) | 0.069 | |
My friends ask me to try acupuncture | 3.30 (0.9) | 2.95 (1.1) | 0.055 |
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Kwag, E.; Joo, H.; Kim, S.-D.; Park, S.J.; Cho, J.H.; Lee, N.H.; Joo, J.C.; Hyun, M.H.; Chimonas, S.; Bao, T.; et al. Utilization Pattern of Acupuncture and Its Associated Predictors for Cancer Pain in South Korea: A Cross-Sectional Study. Diseases 2025, 13, 292. https://doi.org/10.3390/diseases13090292
Kwag E, Joo H, Kim S-D, Park SJ, Cho JH, Lee NH, Joo JC, Hyun MH, Chimonas S, Bao T, et al. Utilization Pattern of Acupuncture and Its Associated Predictors for Cancer Pain in South Korea: A Cross-Sectional Study. Diseases. 2025; 13(9):292. https://doi.org/10.3390/diseases13090292
Chicago/Turabian StyleKwag, Eunbin, Haneum Joo, Soo-Dam Kim, So Jung Park, Jung Hyo Cho, Nam Hun Lee, Jong Cheon Joo, Myung Han Hyun, Susan Chimonas, Ting Bao, and et al. 2025. "Utilization Pattern of Acupuncture and Its Associated Predictors for Cancer Pain in South Korea: A Cross-Sectional Study" Diseases 13, no. 9: 292. https://doi.org/10.3390/diseases13090292
APA StyleKwag, E., Joo, H., Kim, S.-D., Park, S. J., Cho, J. H., Lee, N. H., Joo, J. C., Hyun, M. H., Chimonas, S., Bao, T., Mao, J. J., Lee, J. Y., & Yoo, H. (2025). Utilization Pattern of Acupuncture and Its Associated Predictors for Cancer Pain in South Korea: A Cross-Sectional Study. Diseases, 13(9), 292. https://doi.org/10.3390/diseases13090292