Table 5.
Differences in characteristics between chiropractors practising under a musculoskeletal spine-care paradigm versus subluxation-based paradigm (n = 2061; 95.1% of all respondents)
| Characteristics | Musculoskeletal spine-care n = 1388 n (%) /mean (SD) |
Subluxation-based care n = 573 n (%) /mean (SD) |
|---|---|---|
| Sociodemographic characteristics | ||
| Mean age (SD) years* | 46.7 ± (11.8) | 49.1 ± 12.1 |
| Years of practice (years)* | 18.8 ± 11.3 | 21.2 ± 11.6 |
| Degree (e.g., Master’s or PhD)* | 1388 (27) | 573 (22) |
| Practice setting characteristics | ||
| Sole Proprietor* | 1386 (22) | 573 (33) |
| Working with other chiropractors/osteopaths* | 1386 (58) | 573 (49) |
| Working with general practitioners/medical specialists# | 1387 (11) | 573 (7) |
| Working with allied health practitioners* | 1386 (34) | 573 (18) |
| Working with complementary healthcare practitioners* | 1387 (55) | 573 (41) |
| Practice setting changes in response to the outbreak | ||
| Protective screen added at the reception desk* | 1384 (62) | 568 (51) |
| Social distancing with patient seating in the reception and/or treatment area* | 1384 (90) | 568 (87) |
| Changes to the spacing of patient bookings* | 1384 (82) | 568 (73) |
| Care restricted to emergency/urgent cases only* | 1384 (43) | 568 (31) |
| Patient care was stopped* | 1384 (42) | 568 (25) |
| Knowledge of health regulator advice on chiropractors use of PPE | ||
| No necessity to wear protective clothing* | 1386 (35) | 573 (27) |
| Implementation of advised PPE use for chiropractors | ||
| Implementing some/all advised PPE for chiropractors* | 1363 (94) | 563 (90) |
| Knowledge of health regulator advice on patient use of PPE | ||
| Wearing a cloth/standard surgical mask* | 1386 (84) | 571 (79) |
| No necessity to wear an N95 respirator/mask* | 1387 (95) | 572 (91) |
| No necessity to wear face and/or eye shielding* | 1387 (93) | 572 (86) |
| No necessity to use disposable gloves* (n = vs) | 1387 (96) | 572 (90) |
| Deeming that patients do not need to use any kind of PPE* | 1387 (9) | 572 (14) |
| Implementation of advised PPE use for patients | ||
| Implementing some/all advised PPE for patients* | 1352 (87) | 565 (77) |
| Approach to patient presenting with COVID-19 or flu-like symptoms | ||
| No treatment until the patient had negative COVID-19 test results, completed the 14-day quarantine if positive, or had no more flu-like symptoms* | 1385 (97) | 573 (89) |
| Use of teleconferencing/telehealth | ||
| Before COVID-19 outbreak* | 1381 (5) | 571 (3) |
| During COVID-19 outbreak* | 1308 (32) | 558 (14) |
| Public health education | ||
| Providing public health education* | 1195 (87) | 421 (74) |
| Providing such education through their practice website* | 1195 (54) | 421 (44) |
| Providing such education through social media# | 1195 (45) | 421 (39) |
| Most trusted sources for COVID-19 information | ||
| Information from authorities (e.g., national/regional government, chiropractic associations, World Health Organization, chiropractic registration/regulation boards)* | 1368 (94) | 556 (84) |
| Support for public health independent guidelines for chiropractors | ||
| In favour of independent guidelines* | 1385 (46) | 570 (31) |
| Face-to-face treatments during the peak of COVID-19 outbreak | ||
| Decreased as compared to before the outbreak* | 1385 (97) | 573 (86) |
| Change in personal income during the peak of COVID-19 outbreak | ||
| The same or increased as compared to before the outbreak* | 1332 (9) | 558 (17) |
| Seeking financial assistance during the peak of COVID-19 outbreak | ||
| Yes* | 1381 (70) | 568 (59) |
| Anticipated changes in practice after the COVID-19 pandemic | ||
| Temporary leave from work but still employed* | 1385 (53) | 573 (41) |
| Decreased work hours/income* | 1385 (32) | 573 (26) |
| No substantial changes* | 1385 (10) | 573 (24) |
| Changes in patient care after the COVID-19 pandemic | ||
| No change* | 1387 (9) | 573 (27) |
| Increased disinfecting/cleaning of practice equipment/area* | 1387 (74) | 573 (56) |
| Greater use of PPE* | 1387 (42) | 573 (25) |
| Greater use of hand sanitiser* | 1387 (63) | 573 (43) |
| More social distancing in reception and/or treatment areas* | 1387 (36% | 573 (25) |
| More rescheduling if patients have flu-like symptoms* | 1387 (59) | 573 (36) |
| More teleconferencing/telehealth patient care* | 1387 (14) | 573 (5) |
All survey items demonstrating significant between-group differences: *P < 0.01; # P < 0.05