Health 1–25 © The Author(s) 2015 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/1363459315574116 hea.sagepub.com Integration of acupuncture into conventional medicine from health professionals’ perspective: A thematic synthesis of qualitative studies Esther García-Escamilla, Beatriz Rodríguez-Martín and Vicente Martínez-Vizcaíno Health and Social Research Centre, University of Castilla-La Mancha, Spain Abstract Acupuncture is a prominent Complementary Medicine. Although health professionals’ conceptions of acupuncture may affect its utilisation and integration within conventional medicine, these aspects have not been well studied. The aim of this review was to analyse the integration of acupuncture into conventional medicine from the perspective of health professionals. We conducted a systematic review and a thematic synthesis of qualitative studies that analysed the integration of acupuncture into conventional medicine grounded in participants’ perspectives. A systematic search was undertaken in PubMed, Web of Science, the Cochrane Library Plus, Scopus and CINAHL. This review included 18 articles: 6 analysed the viewpoint of physicians, 3 of nurses and 9 comprised different health-related professionals. Most of these studies included healthcare professionals practising acupuncture and took place in sites where the relation between acupuncture and biomedicine is favourable. The most used research techniques were convenience sampling, semi-structured interviews and interpretative approach. The holistic approach of acupuncture and its lack of adverse effects were highlighted by the analysed studies. This led to health professionals encouraging its integration into conventional medicine. The main obstacles perceived for the integration were lack of knowledge and institutional support. In general, acupuncture has been Corresponding author: Esther García-Escamilla, Health and Social Research Centre, University of Castilla-La Mancha, Santa Teresa Jornet Street, Cuenca 16071, Spain. E-mail: kung.acupuncture@gmail.com 574116HEA 0 0 10.1177/1363459315574116HealthGarcía-Escamilla et al. research-article 2015 Article by guest on April 11, 2016 hea.sagepub.com Downloaded from