Wheatley Flashcards
what subsection is wheatley apart of ?
treatment programmes
what is ear acupuncture ?
involves the insertion of extremely thin needles in your skin at strategic points on your body , originated in china but its popularity has grown significantly within the us over the last three decades
what are the advantages to ear acupuncture ?
cheap and easily taught , doesn’t require the individual to be motivated
how do the Chinese explain this theory?
as a technique for balancing the flow of energy or life force believed to flow through pathways in your body , by inserting needles into these pathways at specific points , its believed your energy flow will re-balanced
how do the western world believe acupuncture work ?
view the acupuncture points as places to stimulate nerves , muscles and connective tissues , this stimulation appears to boost the activity of your body’s natural painkillers and increase blood flow.
what are the 5 points to treat ?
1) sympathetic - balances the autonomous nervous system
2) kidney- treats immune system and kidney disorders
3) lungs - treats addiction related lung disorders from inhalation
4) liver- treats migraines, stress hempaetitis
5) heavenly gate, calms the spirit , treats pain , addiction and anxiety , used in most cases
what was the aim of wheatleys research?
to test the effectiveness of acupuncture used with standard treatment for treating drug addicted prisoners
who were the participants ?
350 prisoners in 6 high security prisons who received acupuncture (standard) compared with a control group
what was the procedure ?
two trained practitioners worked with groups of 10-15 prisoners
fine needles were inserted into five acupuncture points in the ear and prisoners relaxed for a 40 minutes
what was qualitative data found ?
prisoners reported better sleep, improved relaxation , better coping skills, reduced cravings for nicotine and health improvements
they made more of an effort to communicate with their families and attend classes
officers said they knew when prisoners had been to acupuncture as the wing was calmer and there was less demand for health care
what quantitative data was found ?
70% reductions in drug related incidents
41% reductions in serious incident reports
42% reductions in positive drug testing results (mandatory)
33% reductions in positive drug test results (voluntary)
what conclusions can be drawn from this research?
wheatley feels there is enough evidence to expand the delivery of the programme throughout the prison system and believes that acupuncture works as a complementary therapy with other programmes
