Ghildayal, Neha2017-03-142017-03-142016-10https://hdl.handle.net/11299/185177University of Minnesota Ph.D. dissertation. October 2016. Major: Health Services Research, Policy and Administration. Advisors: Karen Kuntz, Pamela Johnson. 1 computer file (PDF); vi, 185 pages.Low back pain (LBP) places a heavy burden on health care systems in the United States, costing approximately $100 billion a year in costs related to health care utilization. As health care costs continue to rise, it is important to allocate limited resources toward therapies that offer the most benefit for people with LBP. In order to be considered by healthcare policymakers in the US, the use of CAM therapies, such as acupuncture, and resultant outcomes must be understood. For this dissertation, a secondary data analysis, systematic literature review, and cost-effectiveness analysis were completed in order to determine patterns of CAM use and the effectiveness of a specific CAM therapy - acupuncture - in order to give policymakers, health practitioners, and patients in the US additional information on CAM use in the LBP population and the effect of acupuncture on chronic LBP.enAcupunctureChronic DiseaseComplementary & Alternative MedicineHealth Decision ScienceLow Back PainNHISThesis or Dissertation