Patients' expectancy scale of acupuncture: Development and clinical performance test

Xing-Yue Yang; Wan-Ying Xia; Yi-Yang Xu; Fang Han; Shi-Yan Yan; Ya-Li Liu; Tian-Lin Wang; Jun-Nan Zhou; Nan Chen; Xuan-Ling Zeng; Cun-Zhi Liu

doi:10.1016/j.ctcp.2023.101797

Patients' expectancy scale of acupuncture: Development and clinical performance test

Complement Ther Clin Pract. 2023 Nov:53:101797. doi: 10.1016/j.ctcp.2023.101797. Epub 2023 Aug 30.

Authors

Xing-Yue Yang¹, Wan-Ying Xia¹, Yi-Yang Xu¹, Fang Han², Shi-Yan Yan³, Ya-Li Liu⁴, Tian-Lin Wang¹, Jun-Nan Zhou¹, Nan Chen¹, Xuan-Ling Zeng¹, Cun-Zhi Liu⁵

Affiliations

¹ School of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Tuina, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100029, China.
² Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100010, China.
³ International Acupuncture and Moxibustion Innovation Institute, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100029, China.
⁴ Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Evidence-based Medicine, Beijing Children's Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100045, China.
⁵ School of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Tuina, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100029, China; International Acupuncture and Moxibustion Innovation Institute, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100029, China. Electronic address: lcz623780@126.com.

PMID: 37690375
DOI: 10.1016/j.ctcp.2023.101797

Abstract

Purpose: This study aims to develop and validate a concise tool for evaluating acupuncture expectancy that is easy to understand and conforms to acupuncture characteristics.

Materials and methods: A draft was created using the Delphi consensus method. Reliability, validity, discrimination, and feasibility tests were conducted at the item and scale levels.

Results: The scale themes were defined as disease-related, treatment-related, process-related, and outcome-related. After two rounds of Delphi surveys with good experts' reliability (authority coefficients of experts were 0.86 and 0.87 in the two rounds) and agreement (Kendall's concordance coefficient of the participants were 0.33 and 0.15 in the two rounds, P < 0.05), 11 items (the mean score for item importance, full mark ratios, and coefficient of variation of items were ≥3.5, ≥25%, and ≤0.30, respectively) were included in the draft. A total of 145 individuals were recruited to test the draft. Reliability was assessed by Cronbach's α coefficient (0.90), split-half reliability coefficient (0.89), and test-retest reliability (Pearson's coefficient = 0.74, P < 0.05). Content validity was assessed by the content validity index (Item-CVI ≥ 0.78 and Scale-CVI/Ave = 0.92), and a confirmatory factor analysis was performed to assess the construct validity. The discrimination of scale items was evaluated by the critical ratio (CR > 3.00) and the homogeneity test (item-total correlations >0.40). Feasibility was assessed through the acceptance rate (recovery rate = 98.60%, response rate = 100%), completion rate (100%), and completion time (4.99 ± 6.80 min).

Conclusion: The patients' expectancy scale of acupuncture (PESA) consists of 11 items with four themes, disease-related, treatment-related, process-related, and outcome-related. It has great reliability, validity, discrimination, and feasibility and has the potential to evaluate acupuncture expectancy in clinical trials.

Keywords: Acupuncture; Delphi consensus; Expectancy; Reliability; Scale; Validity.

MeSH terms

Acupuncture Therapy*
Factor Analysis, Statistical
Humans
Psychometrics / methods
Reproducibility of Results
Surveys and Questionnaires