Understanding the concept of safety in acupuncture international standardization: a context-based interpretation

Abstract There is the deviation on the understanding of acupuncture “safety” in healthcare research and the development of international standards. How to interpret and contextualize the “safety” is the point to break through it. In the aspects of contextual elements and stakeholders, using the literature reviews and theoretic approach, the concept of “safety” is attempted to be specified and the differences between health care research and international standard development to be discussed. The article aims to outline the general conceptual framework of “safety”. Consequently, an approach is explored to the term-based analysis in acupuncture international standard development.