Differences in Outcomes of Patients Treated by Male vs Female Chiropractors

Resilient responses to stressful events among chiropractic students: A cross-sectional survey

OBJECTIVE

Resilient students may better navigate the challenges of chiropractic training. This study explored the relationships between response to stressful experiences, perceived stress, and quality of life among students at 1 US chiropractic college campus.

METHODS

A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 873 students. The anonymous online questionnaire included demographics, quality of life, perceived stress, and the Response to Stressful Events Scale (RSES). Hierarchical multiple regression analyses assessed for significant relationships among variables.

RESULTS

A sample of 221 students (60% female) completed the survey (25% response rate). Male respondents reported greater psychological health. Participants reporting high quality of life exhibited higher resiliency on the RSES flat score and many RSES domains. Respondents who rated greater psychological health and social relationships exhibited greater spiritual resiliency. Respondents reporting higher psychological health and lower levels of perceived stress exhibited higher self-efficacy resilience. Psychological health was the most important predictor for RSES flat score and domains, except for spiritual resilience, for which social relationships were most important. Male gender was predictive of 3 RSES domains: meaning making, active coping, and cognitive flexibility.

CONCLUSION

More resilient responses to stressful events were reported by male chiropractic students and those who reported greater psychological health, higher quality of life, or lower perceived stress. Female students and those experiencing psychological challenges or lower quality of life might consider resilience training to increase the use of protective coping strategies. These findings may permit academic institutions to identify students at highest risk and employ interventions to prevent program withdrawal.

Empathy levels in Australian chiropractic students

OBJECTIVE

Empathy is an important modifiable quality of health care practitioners that relates to the quality of patient care. The educative process may adversely affect the empathy levels of health care students at key phases of training. This topic remains unexplored in chiropractic students to date.

METHODS

A voluntary and anonymous questionnaire was distributed to all chiropractic students in an Australian university-based program in April 2021. This questionnaire recorded age, sex, year of study, and Toronto Empathy Questionnaire scores.

RESULTS

Chiropractic student empathy scores approximated those of other Australian health care students. No statistical differences were found when comparing the mean scores of empathy levels across the 5 student cohorts. The empathy levels of female chiropractic students' were significantly higher than those of the male chiropractic students.

CONCLUSION

This study provides a baseline from which further explorations on empathy may be conducted in chiropractic students. This holds the potential to improve practitioners' quality of life and patient outcomes and for educators to identify subject matter that may negatively affect empathy levels.

Differences in Practice Characteristics Between Male and Female Chiropractors in South Africa: Secondary Analysis of Data From Scope of Practice Survey 2015

OBJECTIVE

The aim of the study was to determine whether there were differences in practice characteristics between male and female chiropractors working in South Africa.

METHODS

A secondary analysis of data from the online survey "The Analysis of the Scope of Chiropractic Practice in South Africa in 2015" was performed, relating to demographic data, work environment, patient data, chief complaint, treatment techniques, and conditions treated. The original survey yielded a 30% response rate (n = 214), of which 212 responses to the question relating to sex, indicated 56.13% (n = 119) male respondents and 43.87% (n = 93) female respondents. Using the X² test, differences in practice characteristics between male and female chiropractors were compared.

RESULTS

Significant differences were noted for South African female chiropractors reporting that they spent more time with patients during initial (P = .028) and subsequent (P = .0001) visits and more time on direct patient care (P = .0001). South African male chiropractors showed significant differences in being in practice for longer (P = .002), treating more patients per week (P = .0001), number of new patients seen per week (P = .0001), and spending more time working in their practice per week.

CONCLUSION

We found differences between self-reported male and female chiropractors in their practice characteristics, particularly in the number of patients seen per week and hours worked per week. These factors may need to be considered in the profession as the number of female chiropractors increases.

Differences in Practice Characteristics Between Male and Female Chiropractors in Switzerland

OBJECTIVES

A total of 75% of the chiropractic medicine students in the new program at the University of Zürich are women, which is in stark contrast to the traditional ratio of chiropractors in Switzerland, where 75% have been men. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to compare work behaviors between female and male chiropractors relating to workload, patient variety, and chiropractic treatment techniques.

METHODS

This is a secondary analysis of data from the Swiss Job Analysis 2009 study. The design was an online survey to all practicing chiropractors in Switzerland that had a 70% response rate of 183 returned surveys. Differences between male and female chiropractors in the various categorical responses involving practice workload, characteristics and patient types were compared using the χ² test.

RESULTS

Male chiropractors had significantly more years in practice (P = .0001), worked more hours per week (P = .0001), and saw more patients (P = .0001) and more new patients (P = .004) per week compared with female chiropractors. Female chiropractors spent significantly more time with patients during follow-up visits (P = .017). There were no significant differences in treatment techniques used or the types of patients seen between the sexes.

CONCLUSION

Because female chiropractors work fewer hours and see fewer patients per week, this may lead to a shortage of chiropractors in the future as the sex ratio within the profession slowly changes in Switzerland.