A psychological profile of chiropractic patients: an australian case study

The efficiency and efficacy of the chiropractic consultation would be enhanced if patients requiring additional psychological assistance could be identified. Distressed patients and those with a low sense of coherence and/or manageability score may benefit from a more prolonged chiropractic consultation or may require specialist referral.

This exploratory study sought to ascertain whether categorization within a particular chiropractic management group could serve as a red flag to alert the practitioner to the likelihood of special patient needs.

A case study to explore the psychological profile of chiropractic patients was undertaken. The DRAM (Distress and Risk Assessment Method) and SOC (Sense of Coherence) questionnaires were used to ascertain the distress and sense of coherence and manageability levels of acute, chronic and maintenance chiropractic patients. Purposive sampling of practitioners and convenience sampling of patients fulfilling the study's inclusion criteria was undertaken. Patients were requested to complete two and chiropractors to complete one questionnaire and an interview.

Ten chiropractors and 142 patients participated in the study. Of participating patients, 38% had a chronic biomechanical problem, 23% were acute, and 39% were maintenance patients. Acute, chronic and maintenance patients were spread along the entire spectrum of the SOC and manageability scale. Of the 130 patients who completed the DRAM section of the questionnaire, over one in five were distressed.

Due to the small sample size and the diversity of results it was not possible to identify particular groups of chiropractic patients who require additional consultation time or referral. This study did however demonstrate that some chiropractic patients are distressed and consequently it is important that chiropractors know when to manage and when to refer anxious or depressed patients.