ICPA publishes The quality of life of chiropractors using PROMIS: results from a practice-based research network.
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The quality of life of chiropractors using PROMIS: results from a practice-based research network.
Joel Alcantara, Jeanne Ohm, Junjoe Alcantara
Published in Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, 2017.
At ICPA, we believe that chiropractors provide an essential service to the world, so it is also crucial that we are well as individuals and as a whole profession. Because of this, we are honored to announce the recent publication of “The quality of life of chiropractors using PROMIS: results from a practice-based research network” in the journal Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice. This survey study of 148 ICPA member chiropractors is the first of its kind to observe the “quality of life” of chiropractors engaged in the care of children.
Measuring Quality of Life
Quality of life (QoL) is described as the general well-being of a person or society, related to standards of health, comfort and happiness. Chiropractors serve to bring greater health and well-being to their communities, and research has explored the impact of chiropractic care on improving the QoL for our patients. However, we should also explore how our own quality of life is impacted by our role in wellness care.
Data was collected using two survey instruments, PROMIS-29 and PROMIS Global short form; the two surveys measure aspects of emotional/mental and physical health, functioning, and satisfaction with participation in social roles. These questionnaires were utilized in part because their report outcomes are disease-independent and well-documented.
This recently published work analyzed responses from 148 chiropractors with a mean age of 33.09 years and 6.05 years of practice experience. All respondents were participants of the ICPA practice-based research network and represented a subset of the profession with practice emphasis on family wellness care. Although this convenience sample represents a group slightly younger in age and practice years than the averages of the entire profession, the data collected showed no differences in QoL mean scores in terms of age, gender, or years in practice.
The Results
Results showed that chiropractors fare better in QoL than other healthcare providers (i.e. nurses and physicians) and the general public.
Past research on health care providers of various disciplines has showed that the physical and psychological demands can compromise the well-being of these individuals, and this can lead to negative consequences in patient care, job satisfaction, professionalism and personal self-care and safety.
ICPA’s results show greater overall functioning of those surveyed compared to previous studies of the general population, but higher scores were seen related to domains of anxiety and fatigue. Practice burnout due to physical workload, role stress and mental and emotional demands has been documented as a major concern for practitioners. However, in comparison to data of various other health care providers, chiropractors in the ICPA study scored better in global physical health, global mental health and sleep disturbance. We are hopeful that this data would suggest that chiropractors benefit from less perceived stress, greater mindfulness, and self-compassion.
ICPA Participates in Ongoing Research
ICPA strives to continue to promote family wellness through our research projects and encourages the profession to continue to engage in research.
THANK YOU to all 148 chiropractors who participated in this study for your contribution to these efforts!