If you build it, will they come? A free-care acupuncture clinic for minority adolescents in an urban hospital.

OBJECTIVE

To describe the establishment and integration of a free-care acupuncture clinic within an urban hospital with an underserved minority adolescent population and to study patient utilization.

BACKGROUND

Surveys often show low use of acupuncture among underserved non-Asian minority populations. We hypothesized that it would be possible to integrate an acupuncture clinic into a biomedical setting. We also hypothesized that the removal of economic and logistical barriers would increase usage of an acupuncture service among minority adolescent and pediatric populations, who may otherwise have had little cultural exposure to the modality.

METHODS

A review of the process involved in establishing a free acupuncture clinic, and an analysis of visit data.

RESULTS

A free faculty-supervised student acupuncture clinic was successfully integrated into an urban hospital-based adolescent clinic serving predominantly low-income minorities. During 2004-2006, the acupuncture clinic had 544 visits for a wide range of conditions. Visits increased 65% from the first to the third year of operation.

CONCLUSIONS

An acupuncture service can be successfully integrated into care provided by an urban hospital that serves low-income minority and immigrant patients. Strategic removal of barriers to access can result in patients previously unfamiliar with acupuncture choosing to access the modality.