| This study was designed to test the effectiveness of acupuncture on chronic pain whether from cancer, dyspnea, or pain from an injury. Watson's (1985, 1996, 1999) systems theory provided a conceptual framework within which a person's level of pain relief using acupuncture was studied. The data was obtained by administering the Brief Pain Inventory Scale (Cleeland, 1989) and was analyzed using chi square. The results showed that acupuncture provided greater pain relief than western medicine. There were no side effects with acupuncture compared to numerous side effects of western medicine. It was shown that pain greatly impacts on a person's activities of daily living, mood, mobility, and that women perceive their pain to greater than that experienced by men. |
