March 2005

WFC survey: Profession must have clear identity

The general consensus among chiropractors participating in a survey on chiropractic identity is that it is important for the profession to have a clear public identity. This consensus was one of the results of the survey conducted by the World Federation of Chiropractic (WFC) last September.

More than 3,600 respondents told WFC that chiropractic suffers from an unclear identity and position within healthcare today. And 54 percent of respondents said that they believe the chiropractor’s view of the profession and the general public’s view of the profession are equally as important to represent.

Although the survey showed agreement in the need for identity clarification, it also showed discrepancy in the way chiropractors believe the profession should be perceived and the way they think it is actually perceived:

• The majority (55 percent) believe that chiropractic should be considered primary healthcare, but most believe that the public and MDs have no clear perception of the profession or perceive it to offer specialist care;
• Most respondents (88 percent) believe the profession and its services should be perceived as mainstream, but understand that it is viewed as complementary and alternative care;
• The majority of respondents also believe chiropractic should be perceived as wellness care or non-drug, non-surgical healthcare, but they sense that it is perceived as the management of back and neck pain or spinal problems.
• Most respondents (62 percent) oppose the use of prescription drugs in the practice of chiropractic.

The survey identified two major contributing causes to the lack of clarity about chiropractic — limited public awareness about the education of chiropractors and issues of ethics and professional conduct of some members of the profession, which have made headlines in the popular press.

The complete report and analysis of the survey can be accessed at the WFC Web site, www.wfc.org.

Source: World Federation of Chiropractic, www.wfc.org

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