Description

For sample adults who had seen a practitioner for acupuncture during the past 12 months (ACUYR) and had told a conventional medical professional about their use of acupuncture (ACULCONVHP), ACULPSYCHO indicates whether they had reported their use of acupuncture to a psychologist or social worker.

In both 2002 and 2007, interviewers asked, "During the past 12 months, did you let any of these conventional medical professionals know about your use of acupuncture?" and handed the respondent a card listing several types of conventional health care practitioners. If the answer was affirmative (i.e., a "Yes" response in ACULCONVP), interviewers asked the follow-up question, "Which ones [did you tell]?" and noted, "You may choose more than one."

In both 2002 and 2007, the list of conventional medical professionals included the following:

• Medical doctor (including specialists) (ACULMD)

• Nurse Practitioner/Physician Assistant (ACULNURS)

• Psychiatrist (ACULPSYCHI)

• Dentist (including specialists) (ACULDENT)

In 2007, the list included additional categories of conventional medical professionals. One such addition was "psychologist/social worker." The other categories of conventional medical professionals that were specified in 2007 only were:

• Pharmacist (ACULPHARM)

• Doctor of Osteopathy (D.O.) (ACULDO)

For more information about the full range of variables related to acupuncture, including definitions, see ACUYR.

Comparability

ACULPSYCHO is available for 2007 only. In both 2002 and 2007, information was collected on whether use of acupuncture was reported to a psychiatrist. For comparison of results between the two years, researchers may wish to combine the variables relating to psychiatrists and psychologists/social workers; see ACULPSYCHI for discussion.

For discussion of comparability issues affecting ACULPSYCHO and related variables, see ACULCONVHP. Only persons with a positive response in ACULCONVHP were asked the follow-up question for ACULPSYCHO.

Universe

Availability

• 2007

Weights

• 2007 : SAMPWEIGHT