[Attitudes to acupuncture--a questionnaire study among medical students in Tromsø]

Abstract

In February 1992, 80% of the medical students at Tromsø University filled in a questionnaire concerning attitudes to acupuncture. 63% of the students would recommend acupuncture when the diagnosis was migraine, while 14% of the students would support a patient who tried acupuncture as cancer therapy. 86% of the students thought that placebo could account for 25-50% of the effect of acupuncture. Most of the students wanted more scientific documentation, although 75% said that acupuncture already was, or at least should be, part of the ordinary health care system. The main result of this study was a generally positive attitude towards acupuncture. The students want to learn the method, and they will recommend acupuncture for their future patients.