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Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine for Survivors of Torture and Refugee Trauma: A Descriptive Report

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Abstract

Refugees with trauma histories are a difficult medical population to treat. Acupuncture care has gained acceptance in many mainstream hospitals in the United States, but research on acupuncture and refugee populations is limited. Herein, we report our experiences with 50 refugees (total acupuncture treatments = 425) at a major tertiary teaching hospital. Patients often reported extreme trauma including physical torture, rape and witnessing the same in family members. Patients represented 13 different countries, with about half the patients being Somali. The primary complaint of all patients was pain (100%). Using the Wong-Baker Faces Pain scale, 56% patients reported pain decreases. Patient acceptance of acupuncture was high. We provide three case histories as illustrative examples. Further research is warranted.

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Acknowledgments

ESH was supported by the Tides Foundation and the New England School of Acupuncture. MAG was supported by a grant from the Office of Refugee Resettlement of the US Department of Health and Human Services and The United Nations Voluntary Fund for Torture Victims. TJK was supported by a Mid-Career Investigator Award (K24 AT004095) from the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), National Institutes of Health. We also acknowledge our Research Assistants: Leah Weiss and Mckenna Longacre.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Family Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, 02118, USA

    Ellen Silver Highfield

  2. Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, 02118, USA

    Puja Lama

  3. Department of Health Law, Bioethics and Human Rights, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA

    Michael A. Grodin

  4. Department of Family Medicine and Psychiatry, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, 02118, USA

    Michael A. Grodin

  5. Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02215, USA

    Ted J. Kaptchuk

  6. Department of Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, 02118, USA

    Sondra S. Crosby

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  1. Ellen Silver Highfield
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  2. Puja Lama
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  4. Ted J. Kaptchuk
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  5. Sondra S. Crosby
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Correspondence to Ellen Silver Highfield.

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Highfield, E.S., Lama, P., Grodin, M.A. et al. Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine for Survivors of Torture and Refugee Trauma: A Descriptive Report. J Immigrant Minority Health 14, 433–440 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-011-9538-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-011-9538-6

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