Problem-solving training: assessing the feasibility and acceptability of delivering and evaluating a problem-solving training model for front-line prison staff and prisoners who self-harm.

Objectives: Problem-solving skills training is adaptable, inexpensive and simple to deliver. However, its application with prisoners who self-harm is unknown. The study assessed the feasibility and acceptability of a problem-solving training (PST) intervention for prison staff and prisoners who self-harm, to inform the design of a large-scale study.

An economic evaluation of Alexander Technique lessons or acupuncture sessions for patients with chronic neck pain: A randomized trial (ATLAS).

Objectives: To assess the cost-effectiveness of acupuncture and usual care, and Alexander Technique lessons and usual care, compared with usual GP care alone for chronic neck pain patients.

Methods: An economic evaluation was undertaken alongside the ATLAS trial, taking both NHS and wider societal viewpoints. Participants were offered up to twelve acupuncture sessions or twenty Alexander lessons (equivalent overall contact time).

Lifestyle Advice and Self-Care Integral to Acupuncture Treatment for Patients with Chronic Neck Pain: Secondary Analysis of Outcomes Within a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Lifestyle advice is widely considered as an integral component of acupuncture treatment. However, it is unclear whether lifestyle advice and related self-care are important for sustaining benefit over the longer term. In a novel secondary analysis of trial data, this paper explores the nature and impact of acupuncture-related diagnosis, and associated lifestyle advice and self-care, in patients with chronic neck pain.

Alexander Technique Lessons or Acupuncture Sessions for Persons With Chronic Neck Pain: A Randomized Trial.

Background: Management of chronic neck pain may benefit from additional active self-care-oriented approaches.

Objective: To evaluate clinical effectiveness of Alexander Technique lessons or acupuncture versus usual care for persons with chronic, nonspecific neck pain.

Design: Three-group randomized, controlled trial.

Patients' experiences and expectations of chiropractic care: a national cross-sectional survey.

Background: Not enough is understood about patients' views of chiropractic care. The aims of this research were to explore patients' experiences and expectations, their perceptions of benefits and risks, and the implications for chiropractors' continuing fitness to practise.

Methods: Survey questions were formulated from existing literature, published guidance on good practice from the General Chiropractic Council, and from 28 telephone interviews and a small focus group with chiropractic patients using a semi-structured topic guide.

Cost-effectiveness analysis of acupuncture, counselling and usual care in treating patients with depression: the results of the ACUDep trial.

Background: New evidence on the clinical effectiveness of acupuncture plus usual care (acupuncture) and counselling plus usual care (counselling) for patients with depression suggests the need to investigate the health-related quality of life and costs of these treatments to understand whether they should be considered a good use of limited health resources.

Methods And Findings: The cost-effectiveness analyses are based on the Acupuncture, Counselling or Usual care for Depression (ACUDep) trial results. Statistical analyses demonstrate a difference in mean quality adjusted life years (QALYs) and suggest differences in mean costs which are mainly due to the price of the interventions.

Practitioner perspectives on strategies to promote longer-term benefits of acupuncture or counselling for depression: a qualitative study.

Background: Non-pharmacological interventions for depression may help patients manage their condition. Evidence from a recent large-scale trial (ACUDep) suggests that acupuncture and counselling can provide longer-term benefits for many patients with depression. This paper describes the strategies practitioners reported using to promote longer-term benefits for their patients.

Patients' experiences of acupuncture and counselling for depression and comorbid pain: a qualitative study nested within a randomised controlled trial.

Introduction: Depression and pain frequently occur together and impact on outcomes of existing treatment for depression. Additional treatment options are required. This study aimed to explore patients' experiences of depression, the processes of change within acupuncture and counselling, and the elements that contributed to longer-term change.

Acupuncture and counselling for depression in primary care: a randomised controlled trial.

Background: Depression is a significant cause of morbidity. Many patients have communicated an interest in non-pharmacological therapies to their general practitioners. Systematic reviews of acupuncture and counselling for depression in primary care have identified limited evidence.

Alexander Technique Lessons, Acupuncture Sessions or usual care for patients with chronic neck pain (ATLAS): study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

Background: Chronic neck pain is a common condition in the adult population. More research is needed to evaluate interventions aiming to facilitate beneficial long-term change. We propose to evaluate the effect of Alexander Technique lessons and acupuncture in a rigorously conducted pragmatic trial with an embedded qualitative study.

The acceptability of acupuncture for low back pain: a qualitative study of patient's experiences nested within a randomised controlled trial.

Introduction: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidelines recommend acupuncture as a clinically effective treatment for chronic back pain. However, there is insufficient knowledge of what factors contribute to patients' positive and negative experiences of acupuncture, and how those factors interact in terms of the acceptability of treatment. This study used patient interviews following acupuncture treatment for back pain to identify, understand and describe the elements that contribute or detract from acceptability of treatment.

Acupuncture, Counseling, and Usual care for Depression (ACUDep): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Background: The evidence on the effect of acupuncture or counseling for depression is not conclusive yet is sufficient to warrant further research. Our aim is to conduct a full-scale RCT to determine the clinical and cost effectiveness of acupuncture and counseling compared to usual care alone. We will explore the experiences and perspectives of patients and practitioners.

Care home staff can detect the difference between delirium, dementia and depression.

Prevention of delirium is an important part of looking after care home residents, however, it can be difficult to detect, especially in those who have dementia. This article explores the perceptions and experiences of care home staff integrating delirium prevention activity in their everyday work. As part of the Stop delirium! feasibility study interviews were carried out and when they were analysed five themes were identified: triggers and knowledge; detection and observation; effect of closest contact; changes in management of care; and communication and teamwork to overcome difficulties.

Assessing blinding in randomised controlled trials of acupuncture: challenges and recommendations.

The revision of CONSORT guidelines for reporting blinding in randomised controlled trials is the subject of controversy and criticism. To determine whether the criticism is justified, in this short communication paper we discuss the problems encountered in the methodology of the assessment of blinding, and the reporting of blinding in randomised controlled trials and the standards of reporting on blinding with reference to their usage in clinical trials of acupuncture for chronic pain. To conclude we recommend two simple guidelines: the development of sound clinical protocols that anticipate potential difficulties and reinforce overall internal validity, and secondly.

Stop Delirium! A complex intervention to prevent delirium in care homes: a mixed-methods feasibility study.

Background: delirium is likely to be particularly common in care homes, given the clustering of known risk factors in these settings. Preventing delirium should result in significant benefits, including better quality of care and improved outcomes for residents.

Objective: to test the feasibility of 'Stop Delirium!', an intervention to prevent delirium in care homes for older people, and to optimise parameters to inform the design of a future trial evaluation.

An intervention to reduce delirium in care homes.

This article describes delirium and explains why its prevention is important. An enhanced educational package that was developed with care home staff to prevent delirium is outlined. The challenges and successes of the project are highlighted.

Acupuncture for chronic pain: is acupuncture more than an effective placebo? A systematic review of pooled data from meta-analyses.

Objectives: There is controversy as to whether or not acupuncture is more effective than placebo. To help clarify this debate, we synthesized the evidence gathered from systematic reviews on the pooled data of high-quality randomized controlled trials comparing acupuncture to sham acupuncture for chronic pain.

Method: Systematic reviews of acupuncture for the most commonly occurring forms of chronic pain (back, knee, and head) published between 2003 and 2008 were sourced from Ovid databases: Medline, Allied and Complementary Medicine database, Cochrane Library and Web of Science during December 2008.