A Multidisciplinary Approach Using Auriculotherapy for Erectile Dysfunction: A Qualitative Case Study

摘要

Background: In 2007, 19 men with erectile dysfunction (ED) were treated in the current author's clinic, using a multidisciplinary approach a duration of 20 weeks, with weekly interventions. This multidisciplinary approach included auriculotherapy with the VAS (Vascular Autonomic Signal), Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) acupuncture, motivational interpellation (meaning admonition, not discussion), and practical exercises for home use. Objective: The aim of this study was to demonstrate that a multidisciplinary approach to treating ED can be useful.Design: A case-study procedure was used. Data consisted of self-evaluation texts together with therapy records for the patients. A hermeneutical method was used to process data.Results: It was concluded that a multidisciplinary approach to treating ED help achieve both improved erectile function and self-esteem. This approach also improved social relations, and this was demonstrated via the self-assessment data processed by interpretation. Eighteen men experienced improved erectile function. Discussion: The problem of ED must be studied as a biologic, social, and psychologic phenomenon in context, and examined from the perspective of the patient who experiences ED. Such persons can render information that may be interpreted by a therapist and/or a hermeneutical researcher. A health condition may be described in terms of its position in a continuum. The multidisciplinary therapy, as was used in this study, may have a marked impact on a man's self-esteem, restoring his feeling of manhood, compared to single biomedical treatment of ED.Conclusions: A multidisciplinary model that incorporates auriculotherapy, TCM, motivation, and exercises is a useful treatment for ED.