Chiropractic care can be complicated for patients because of its specialized terminology for assessment, treatment plans, symptom trajectories, and potential for benign adverse events. One solution is for chiropractors to adopt functional health literacy, interactive health literacy, and critical health literacy into patient-centered chiropractic care. Health literacy empowers patients of all backgrounds to “read” and “listen” to their bodies, verbally communicate their thoughts and needs during the chiropractic visit, and access print and digital technologies to optimize their health outcomes. See here for our recent poster describing health literacy within the chiropractic profession (https://chiropracticscience.com/advancing-a-framework-for-chiropractic-health-literacy/).
Based upon several U.S. and international consensus studies (2017), we advocate for chiropractors and D.C. students to use, implement, and practice health literacy competencies developed by Coleman et al. (2013 & 2017). We propose the adoption of a Health Literacy Curriculum (HLC) for chiropractors, because other health and medical professionals are adopting these competencies also.
The top consensus recommendation by the Coleman et al study (2017) was to use a “teach back” or “show me” technique with patients to check for understanding and correct misunderstandings, during the clinical visit and and during the informed consent process. In this regard, patients are asked to demonstrate their level of understanding by repeating back in their own words the information the professional has communicated to them. To learn more about the other health literacy recommendations, please look at our poster or visit the link below to the Coleman study.
References:
Coleman, C., Hudson, S., & Pederson, B. (2017). Prioritized health literacy and clear communication practices for health care professionals. HLRP: Health Literacy Research and Practice, 1(3): e91-e99 https://doi.org/10.3928/24748307-20170503-01
Coleman, C. A., Hudson, S., & Maine, L.L. (2013). Health literacy practices and educational competencies for health professionals: a consensus study.Journal of Health communication,18 Suppl 1(Suppl 1), 82-102.
Upcoming interview with Dr. J. David Cassidy. Dr. Cassidy is a Professor of Epidemiology and Health Policy at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. His research focus is injury epidemiology, neurotrauma, musculoskeletal disorders and evidence-based health care and policy. He has published over 300 research papers and chapters in textbooks over his career, including papers in the New England Journal of Medicine, the British Medical Journal, Annals of Internal Medicine, JAMA Psychiatry and the Archives of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine to name a few. He is particularly interested in the psychosocial determinants of injury recovery and long-term consequences of injury. Please comment below if you have any questions for us during the interview. I might choose some of them for our conversation.
Upcoming interview with Dr. Anthony Lisi. We will be discussing chiropractic research and the state of chiropractic in the VA. Dr. Lisi is the Chiropractic Program Director for the US Veterans Health Administration, overseeing all national programmatic issues related to the integration of chiropractic clinical services, education and research. He is also an Associate Research Scientist at the Yale Center for Medical Informatics, Yale University School of Medicine. He has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications on topics including low back pain management, spinal manipulation, interprofessional education, and chiropractic services. Dr. Lisi received the American Chiropractic Associations’ 2015 Academician of the Year award, and the 2017 Chiropractor of the Year award. Please comment below if you have any questions for us during the interview. I might choose some of them for our conversation.
Upcoming interview with Geoffrey Bove, DC, PhD. He is a graduate of Hampshire College, Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College, and the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He is currently a professor at the University of New England, in Biddeford Maine (USA). Dr. Bove’s research has focused on the effect of inflammation on small diameter axons within peripheral nerves, a topic directed by founding chiropractic principles. He also studies the effects of manual therapies on common painful conditions, such as repetitive motion disorders and postoperative visceral adhesions. Please comment below if you have any questions for us during the interview. I might choose some of them for our conversation.
