Recorded presentation

Cameron Borody, BSc DC FCCSS(C) and Hettie Till, MSc, MMedEd, DEd. Clinical Education, Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College, 6100 Leslie Street, Toronto, ON M2H 3J1, Canada, 416-482-2340, cborody@cmcc.ca

Chiropractors claim to affect the health of society in many ways, particularly through prevention, which includes patient education and counseling on a variety of health-related issues. A course in health promotion is thus included in the curriculum of all chiropractic colleges. Upon closer inspection, there is a distinct absence of chiropractic involvement in formal public health programs or participation in organized health promotion initiatives in Canada.

In order to give students a broader concept of how they might apply their skills and incorporate themselves into mainstream health promotion, changes to this course at CMCC were deemed necessary. First year students were surveyed for their feedback on the course. Forty-eight percent of the students returned valid responses and of these 91% indicated dissatisfaction with the quality of the course. Of most concern was the apparent lack of relevance and integration indicating that the course material was not directly related to the chiropractic profession. The course evaluations indicated that immediate remediation was needed.

Recently developed guidelines for public health education in chiropractic colleges sponsored by the Association of Chiropractic Colleges (ACC) were applied to direct changes in course content. Curriculum reform includes a workshop on health promotion in clinical practice, creation of public health media focussed on health promotion, and exposure to a variety of relevant public health issues. Student feedback at the end of the course should demonstrate if the changes were beneficial.

Learning Objectives:

• Recognize the present challenges in implementing a clinically-relevant health promotion course at a chiropractic college.
• Apply a model for critical self-evaluation of public health education in chiropractic college.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.

Recorded presentation