Practicing shiatsu in Australia: a workforce survey

ABSTRACT Background Shiatsu is an under-represented modality within complementary medicine (CM) research. No previous data has been collected on the shiatsu workforce in Australia. Objectives This study aimed to characterise shiatsu practitioners in Australia and their clinical practice with the view of informing clinical research. Methods In 2016, a 32-question on-line cross-sectional survey was advertised to shiatsu practitioners on the Shiatsu Therapy Association of Australia’s (STAA) mailing list and through other professional associations. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data. Results Of the 121 respondents 70.3% (n = 85) were female, the median age was 48 years and 74.4% (n = 90) were STAA members. The median number of years in practice was ten. Most were self-employed (93.3%, n = 112/120) working less than 20 hours per week (82.1%, n = 92/120) in a variety of settings, most commonly solo practice (76%, n = 91/120) followed by group practices alongside other shiatsu practitioners, allied health or medical doctors (53.3%, n = 64/120). Practitioners reported typically spending over an hour of contact time with a broad range of clients who often had multiple healthcare needs, including those incurring a high burden of disease such as chronic pain and mental health. The top four symptoms/conditions that practitioners reported improved outcomes were pain/musculoskeletal (40.6%, n = 128/315), mental health/wellbeing (26.0%, n = 82/315), fatigue (10.2%, n = 31/315) and gastrointestinal (6.3%, n = 20/315). On average, a positive effect was reportedly observed following four treatments at 1–2 week intervals. Almost twothirds (63.2%, n = 67/106) of practitioners reported regularly referring their clients to other health professionals. Conclusions Results from the first national workforce survey of shiatsu practitioners in Australia suggest Shiatsu practitioners are engaging in the shared care of their clients’ health and wellbeing, including referrals or recommendations to other healthcare practitioners. Practitioner characteristics generally align with those reported for the broader field of CM in Australia and shiatsu practitioners in Western Europe. Reported positive outcomes for chronic diseases and common yet difficult-to-treat symptoms signal areas for future clinical research.