A feasibility trial of Self-Acupuncture for patients with Migraines
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A feasibility trial of Self-Acupuncture for patients with Migraines (SAM)
IRAS ID
339654
Contact name
Catrina Davy
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of West London
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 11 months, 30 days
Research summary
The NICE guidelines recommend ten sessions of acupuncture for the prophylactic treatment of migraines. However, ongoing or maintenance treatment is not recommended. Teaching people self-acupuncture (SA) is an option to help people to manage migraines. To date, there is no research examining SA in the management of migraines.
The aim of the proposed study is to evaluate the feasibility of teaching SA to patients with migraines in an NHS setting.
The study will employ a pragmatic, mixed-methods, randomised, parallel-group, exploratory design. The study will compare SA plus standard care versus standard care alone.
Sixty participants will be recruited from the Royal London Hospital for Integrated Medicine (RLHIM). RLHIM is a hospital within University College London Hospitals NHS Trust. The patients will have already completed a course of acupuncture, delivered by an RLHIM acupuncturist and self-declare that they have benefitted from the course of acupuncture. Forty people will be allocated to the SA group and 20 people to the standard care group. Participants in the SA group will be asked to perform SA by needling one point on each hand and one point on each foot. They will be asked to do SA twice a week for 24 weeks.
Participants will complete outcome measures at various time points and be invited to take part in a qualitative telephone interview to explore their views on the design of the study and acceptability of the intervention. The researcher will take field notes of the observation of the SA teaching session to explore the acceptability of the SA teaching method. Data will be analysed to determine the findings. It is expected that they study will last about 12 months.
REC name
London - Queen Square Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
24/LO/0383
Date of REC Opinion
20 Aug 2024
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion