Abstract
M.Tech. (Chiropractic)
Background There is very little known regarding COVID-19 and its economic impact to the chiropractic profession. As COVID-19 originated in Wuhan, China in December 2019 it is still relatively new and very few studies regarding its economic impact on the chiropractic profession and other professions have been conducted. Aim The primary aim of this study was to explore the economic impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on chiropractors within the Mpumalanga, Limpopo, North West, Free State, Northern Cape and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa. Three research questions were defined and are as follows: 1. Have Chiropractors lost income due to COVID-19 lockdown? 2. Have Chiropractors had to acquire financial aid? 3. How have Chiropractors managed to curtail costs? Method A cross-sectional, explorative and quantitative study with the use of an anonymous online survey was used by which the registered chiropractors accessed via email through a link. The questionnaire was sent out as a pilot prior to final distribution, the data was analyzed using Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS). Descriptive statistical analysis was used to analyse the data. Of the 596 chiropractors in South Africa, this study focused on those practicing within Mpumalanga (n=11), Limpopo (n=8), North West (n=8), Free State (n=11), Northern Cape (n=4) and Eastern Cape (n=34) provinces making up the sample size a total of 76 participants. The survey was available from 9 February 2021 till 20 April 2021. Results This study obtained 15 valid responses which accounted for a response rate of 19.7%. The primary findings of this study are that prior to the COVID-19 pandemic (53.4%, n=8) of the participants were earning more than R70 000 on average per month, participants (46.6%, n=7) earned less than R70 000 on average per month. During the COVID-19 lockdown (40%) of participants earned between R30 000 and R50 001. Those that acquired financial aid had received compensation via the unemployment insurance fund (20%, n=8), an informal loan from a family member or friend and accessing of personal savings both respectively accounted for (13.3%) of financial aid acquisition, both a loan from the bank and Government aid...