Nutrition-related backgrounds and counseling practices of doctors of chiropractic

A questionnaire was designed and mailed to the entire membership (no. = 438) of the San Francisco Bay Area Chiropractic Society to determine their nutrition education backgrounds and counseling practices and the relationship of backgrounds and counseling practices and the relationship of backgrounds and information resources to counseling practices. Results, based on the 23% response rate, indicated that the hours of formal nutrition education in chiropractic college varied widely in the five categories of responses from zero to more than 120, with the median respondent falling in the median category (81 to 100 hours). Sixty percent of the respondents indicated that they provided nutrition information to their patients on a routine basis, and 38% provided information on request only. The major forms of nutrition information dissemination were counseling (87%) and written materials (74%). The majority of respondents reported that they diagnose osteoporosis, arthritis, and allergies and use nutrition treatments for those disorders as a part of overall therapy. Chiropractic journals and texts were the most frequently used sources of nutrition information. Awareness of the educational backgrounds of registered dietitians correlated positively with the use of dietitians as a resource for nutrition information (p less than .005). The survey results suggest a need for dietitians to become involved in the nutrition-related practices of chiropractors as sources for information and referral.