• Hawk C
• Schneider M
• Evans MW Jr
• Redwood D

• Benchmarking
• Chiropractic / standards
• Consensus
• Health
• Health Promotion
• Manipulation, Chiropractic / standards
• Practice Guidelines as Topic
• Preventive Medicine
• Primary Prevention
• Quality of Life

Objective: The purposes of this project were to develop consensus definitions for a set of best practices that doctors of chiropractic may use for promoting health and wellness and preventing disease and to describe the appropriate components and procedures for these practices.

Methods: A multidisciplinary steering committee of 10 health care professionals developed seed statements based on their clinical experience and relevant literature. A Delphi consensus process was conducted from January to July 2011, following the RAND methodology. Consensus was reached when at least 80% of the panelists were in agreement. There were 44 Delphi panelists (36 doctors of chiropractic, 6 doctors of philosophy, 1 doctor of naturopathy, 1 registered nurse).

Results: The statements developed defined the terms and practices for chiropractic care to promote health and wellness and prevent disease.

Conclusion: This document describes the procedures and features of wellness care that represent a reasonable approach to wellness care and disease prevention in chiropractic clinical practice. This living document provides a general framework for an evidence-based approach to chiropractic wellness care.

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