| Two of 4 possible future scenarios for the chiropractic profession envisaged by the Institute for Alternative Futures pertained to chiropractors as wellness practitioners. Although the chiropractic profession views itself as a wellness profession, chiropractors are largely respected for their expertise in musculoskeletal care. Objective: Given the discrepancy between reality and perception, it was decided to invite influential chiropractors to define wellness, as currently practised and as they perceive it should be practised to best serve the interests of the chiropractic profession and the Australian population. Method: A Delphi study was undertaken. Purposive sampling of current and past leaders of the Chiropractors’ Association of Australia, subcommittee members of the Council on Chiropractic Education Australia and chiropractic academics on staff at Australian universities teaching chiropractic students was instigated. Participants were asked, within an Australian context, to define wellness as it best described current chiropractic practice and as it would best serve the future interests of the chiropractic profession and meet the needs of the population. Email interaction continued until consensus was achieved. Results: Of 34 representatives invited, 14 agreed to participate. A subluxation-based and limited form of wellness care was regarded as inadequate to meet future needs. It was agreed that it was in the best interests of chiropractic and the Australian community to encouraged increased personal responsibility by offering multidimensional wellness care, excluding spiritual wellbeing and safe sex counselling. A strategy to achieve this was outlined. Conclusion: with united effort on the part of professional organisations and field practitioners, chiropractic is capable of acquiring widespread recognition as a wellness profession. This abstract is reproduced with the permission of the publisher; full text (print only) by subscription.
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