New study explores what patients expect from chiropractic care in an integrated rehabilitation hospital setting

(Davenport, Iowa) – A recent study conducted by the Palmer Center for Chiropractic Research explored patient, patient family, and hospital staff and administrator expectations about adding chiropractic care within an integrated rehabilitation hospital for patients with serious neurological injuries. The study found that these stakeholder groups expected chiropractic care to improve pain and function for patients.

The expectations patients hold about their health care are thought to play an important role in clinical outcomes and patient satisfaction.

“Understanding stakeholder expectations may allow providers to align their own expectations in an effort to achieve appropriate clinical outcomes and patient and staff satisfaction,” said Zacariah Shannon, D.C., M.S., study investigator. “Without shared expectations among key stakeholders, patient progress might be hindered either directly, by not addressing patient or provider expectations, or indirectly, by leading to team dysfunction from ill-defined roles.”

This study demonstrates the views of patients, family members, and hospital staff and administrators, and may be helpful for teams seeking to add chiropractic care or for doctors of chiropractic who want to work closely with other health care providers.

The open-access article can be found at https://doi.org/10.1186/s12906-018-2386-3.

Palmer College of Chiropractic, with campuses in Davenport, Iowa., San Jose, Calif., and Port Orange, Fla., is the first and largest chiropractic college in the world.

Palmer College of Chiropractic also features the Palmer Center for Chiropractic Research (PCCR). The PCCR is the largest and most highly-funded chiropractic research facility in the nation.