The interrelationships of wellness, public health, and chiropractic

To explicate the relationships among the definitions and practices of chiropractic, wellness and public health and to make recommendations for strengthening these relationships.

Public health-related topics comprise less than 2% of chiropractic coursework at most chiropractic colleges, and few connections currently exist between chiropractic and public health practice. The concept of well-ness is common to both, and might serve to bridge the gap between the individual health services provided by chiropractors and the community health services provided by public health agencies.

It is time for chiropractic to join the public health movement to improve the health and promote wellness not just in their patient populations, but in their communities, and demonstrate their commitment to patient wellness by integrating their efforts with the healthcare mainstream.