| A | Construction of effectiveness (perceived benefits) | “My friend who had acupuncture for a frozen shoulder is a breast cancer survivor, and so if I was gonna do acupuncture I would talk to her about her experience, which was very positive, you know, for her because physical therapy didn't improve her range of motion but acupuncture did.”
Subject P, 48 years, African American, graduate/professional education “I remember the movie that I saw where the guy, I can't remember what his name was, who was dying of cancer, went to a Chinese acupuncturist to try to get him to relax and to do some inner thoughts.”
Subject Q, 59 years, African American, high school education “I know that when I was very depressed one time, when my relationship of many, many years ended and I was really severely depressed I went to a place in New York and I went in an acupuncture program with [a doctor] up there and it helped.”
Subject B, 46 years, white, college education “Just what my husband tells me and that it helps reconfigurate the flow sometimes of pain or different things. He has a lot of pain so and it helps with his back pain and shoulder pain. And he's had five hip replacements so he uses it for that. And he said it's also relaxing for him…I know it helps, acupuncture helps.”
Subject E, 65 years, white, college education “My grandmother had crippling rheumatoid arthritis and in the 1970s, late 70s, she used to drag herself into Chinatown in New York City to have acupuncture…And she got tremendous relief from it. And that was my first personal… she was the first person I knew who ever used acupuncture. And for everything I hear and read and see it's very effective for a lot of things.”
Subject I, 62 years, white, graduate/professional education “I don't know how it would work, but it's been working for the Chinese, I guess it would work for me.”
Subject S, 56 years, African American, college education “If I guess maybe if there was an ongoing study that was maybe yielding a lot of positive results, you know, and then maybe I would consider it.”
Subject G, 38 years, white, college education
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| B | Practical concerns related to using acupuncture (perceived behavior controls) | “I would be concerned about the person who was doing the sterility, the cleanliness, their experience doing it.”
Subject I, 62 years, white, graduate/professional education “I always wondered whether it was going to hurt. I just couldn't believe that needles sticking out of your forehead, but I don't know.”
Subject Q, 59 years, African American, graduate/professional education “I guess I am just thinking back because I do have issues with lymphedema, so slight because I manage it. I get very, very concerned and paranoid when people come on my left side because it is like I am very guarded. That is the area that you stay away from.”
Subject U, 54 years, African American, college education “I'm a pretty lazy person. So if I can just be at home and pop a pill in my mouth rather than have to go somewhere and have acupuncture.”
Subject D, 53 years, white, college education “I think the one issue with acupuncture as far as I understand it is that having to get the treatment, I guess, on a certain schedule, whether it be once a week or twice a week, and having to sort of persist with that.”
Subject P, 48 years, African American, graduate/professional education
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| C | Decision support and confirmation (social norm) | “I would go to my doctor, but when it came to the decision on me doing the acupuncture, the decision was mine alone.”
Subject X, 67 years, African American, college education “I may ask my husband or my 3 children, but the final decision is mine.”
Subject E, 65 years, white, college education “I would ask my primary care physician. I would ask a person who does acupuncture. And I would ask a family member who's a doctor.”
Subject C, 62 years, white, college education “I would probably go to my sister and she probably would research something and tell me whether to agree with them or not.”
Subject D, 53 years, white, graduate/professional education “I do rely very heavily on Dr… He's my internist that I've had for over 20 years.”
Subject E, 65 years, white, college education “My primary care doctor's the one I go through with just about any and everything that I have to have done.”
Subject O, 73 years, African American, high school education
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