• Argenbright CM
• Stuber KJ
• Malaya CA

• Models, Biopsychosocial
• Open Access Document

Objective: To assess the congruency between patient and student provider perceptions of biopsychosocial factors in chiropractic care, including pain levels, comorbidities, and overall symptom burden.

Methods: A total of 30 patients and 21 student providers from a teaching clinic at Parker University completed tailored surveys with analogous question domains. The surveys included assessments of pain levels, affective and cognitive comorbidities, and biopsychosocial perspectives on recovery outlook, individual agency, and social support.

Results: Providers reported perceiving higher patient pain levels, averaging 4.65/10, than patients reported experiencing. Both groups reported similar rates of affective and cognitive comorbidities, though providers significantly overreported sleep disturbances compared to patients. Regression analyses revealed significant associations between patient pain ratings and perceived control over their injury. Additionally, patients with higher symptom burden reported less control over their lives.

Conclusion: While student providers were effective in addressing most aspects of the biopsychosocial framework in their models of care, these findings suggest that discrepancies do exist between patient and provider perceptions of pain and biopsychosocial elements in chiropractic care and underscore the importance of integrating these perspectives for improved patient outcomes.

Author keywords: Biopsychosocial; Chiropractic; Questionnaire; Student Perspective; Patient Perspective

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