“Chiropractic is manual therapy, not talk therapy”
In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic and the first UK national lockdown, CRC-funded researchers Marc Sanders, Jonathan Field and Dave Newell, together with Shane Derbyshire and Jane Vennik, used the time to conduct a unique study exploring the use of ‘telehealth’, remote consultations by chiropractors. More used to face-to-face consultations and the delivery of hands-on care, the use of remote consultations for chiropractors was a somewhat alien concept, and the researchers set out to explore some of the perceived barriers that clinicians faced.
An online survey was completed by 534 UK chiropractors in May 2020, and subsequent thematic analysis identified several perceived barriers regarding remote consultations. There were barriers related to professional identity (i.e. chiropractors deliver ‘hands on care’), those related to perceived patient preferences, and other barriers regarding the practical difficulties of telehealth (e.g. the use of IT, challenges conducting a history/physical examination remotely, concerns about making a reliable diagnosis). Hence there are some barriers which could be easier to overcome with, for example, practice and training, whereas others, particularly those regarding perceived professional identity, which may hinder the utilisation of RC by chiropractors in the longer term.
Our thanks to CRC-funded researchers Marc Sanders, Jonathan Field and Dave Newell. Our thanks too to co-investigators Shane Derbyshire and Jane Vennick. Congratulations to you all for this excellent publication!