Development of an instrument to assess the quality of acupuncture: results from a Delphi process.

Background: Quality acupuncture influences the outcomes of clinical research, and issues associated with effective administration of acupuncture in randomized controlled trials need to be addressed when appraising studies.

Objective: The study objective was to achieve consensus on domains and items for inclusion in a rating scale to assess quality acupuncture administered in clinical research.

Study Design And Subjects: An active group of Australian acupuncture researchers initially identified a pool of items assessing quality.