Reducing the personal risk of perceived disease: the chiropractic patients' self-care endeavor

It has been suggested that clinicians should be looking at new ways to enhance the self-care of their patients. Patient education is one strategy that primary providers may use. This study investigates the behavior of chiropractic patients to identify whether they are using widely published community health information messages to reduce their personally perceived risk of various diseases.

An exploratory study of chiropractic patients was undertaken to investigate the health-relevant behaviors of patients. Purposive sampling of 9 Australian chiropractic clinics was undertaken. Convenience sampling of patients attending these clinics resulted in the participation of 102 patients. All participants completed a questionnaire, and data were collected and collated into a series of case studies that described some behaviors of participants that might have influenced their risk of acquiring disease. The study was limited to diseases for which participants believed they were at risk.

A substantial number of participants had undergone a screening procedure as recommended by health authorities. The 67 participants who believed they were at risk for one or more of the conditions listed were more likely to have complied. In addition, all participants made certain healthy lifestyle choices. However, implementation of those lifestyle choices that would reduce the personal risk of perceived diseases was sporadic.

The behavior of participants in this study suggests that many chiropractic patients would benefit from additional personalized health information messages. The use of information brochures in chiropractic clinics may not alone lead to a lifestyle change.