| Introduction: There is increasing evidence that perceptions have the potential to influence both behaviour and pathophysiology. It was therefore decided to ascertain the health perceptions of a group of chiropractic patients. Research Methods: A case study of chiropractic patients attending chiropractic clinics and convenience sampling of 210 patients attending these clinics was undertaken. Data was collected using a semi-structured questionnaire in which patients were requested to provide a top-of-mind response to the terms healthy sic nk health information, chiropractic, chiropractor and stress. Thematic analysis was performed. Results.. Most of the patients in this sample reported behaviours conducive to a healthy lifestyle. The major themes to emerge on analysis of patient perceptions were that: patients relate to their own chiropractors rather than chiropractic as a profession, chiropractors are positively viewed and chiropractic focuses on back problems and pain. Although chiropractic patients in this study are most likely to refer to written material for their health information, chiropractors, even when compared to medical practitioners, were seldom selected as health information sources. Conclusions.. Patients regard chiropractic as a valuable limited health profession practised by caring professionals. They do not appear to spontaneously perceive chiropractors as a health information source. This abstract is reproduced with the permission of the publisher; Full text by (print only) subscription.
|
