Developmental Issues in Chiropractic: A South African Practitioner and Patient Perspective

Developmental Issues in Chiropractic: A South African Practitioner and Patient Perspective
April 24, 2007
The Week in Chiropractic

Objective
This study explores pertinent aspects of chiropractic practice in contemporary South Africa in terms of the domains of beliefs, philosophy, professional matters, and education.

Methods
Ten practitioners were purposively sampled. From these, 3 were used as gatekeepers to access 6 patients. Semistructured interviews were conducted with the 16 respondents, and computer-assisted thematic analysis was used to interpret data.

Results
The practitioners in this study distinguish between 2 main views of the chiropractic identityÛthe ÏtechnicianÓ and Ïphysician.Ó The patients interviewed responded that the strengths of the chiropractic profession lie in its social desirability and its health care utility. Two factors seem important in endorsing chiropractic, namely, on the grounds of patient beliefs and philosophical views with respect to health care and the model of practice encountered in the chiropractor's office. However, some patients seem confused by the lack of health care system integration and consequently display uncertainty of the status the chiropractor can claim professionally and educationally. Practitioners portrayed a view, indicating that chiropractic cannot claim coherence in any of the 3 domains investigated. Issues such as the apparent lack of conceptual identity of chiropractic; the absence of a coherent, marketable model of chiropractic practice; and poor interprofessional relationships with mainstream health care stakeholders were observed. The issue of integrated public health care practices as part of the education process and the concomitant perceived lack of exposure especially to black South Africans emerged as interesting and pertinent developmental themes in the local context.

Conclusions
The international discourse related to issues in the domains of philosophy, professionalism, and education and their effect on the practice of chiropractic seem reflected locally. The notion that an increased presence in the public sector might simultaneously increase social awareness and facilitate health care system integration requires further investigation.
Myburgh C, Mouton J. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics. March 2007; Vol. 30, Iss. 3, pp. 206-214.
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