Health services research related to chiropractic: review and recommendations for research prioritization by the...

This project was part of a national, federally sponsored effort to create a prioritized research agenda for the chiropractic profession. An overview (and a separate comprehensive annotated bibliography) of recent social sciences, medical, chiropractic and health services research literature regarding chiropractic is presented. Based on this information, key research questions and issues were identified in the areas of health services research, practice environments and account ability/quality management. Research issues were prioritized by a multidisciplinary panel.

Qualitative review of literature gathered through searches of electronic health care database retrieval systems and citation tracking. Nominal group-process methodology with an expert panel was used to identify research priorities from a comprehensive list of potential health services research questions.

Six recommendations for a health services research agenda for the chiropractic profession were made: determine barriers to usage of chiropractic; develop models to explain chiropractic usage; determine cost-effectiveness of different chiropractic procedures; develop valid measures and predictors of quality of chiropractic care; and examine satisfaction with chiropractic services from patients, other providers, purchasers, etc.