Abstract
Background: As of 11 March 2020, the World Health Organisation declared the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) a global pandemic. Since then, the disease spread worldwide resulting in millions of deaths. With no way to directly combat the virus, countries employed drastic measures to prevent the transmission of the virus. The most widely used form of prevention worldwide has been nationwide lockdowns. These lockdowns, in the majority of cases, halted the economy in an effort to limit the movement and contact between these populations. Like the rest of the world, South Africa followed suit and initiated their lockdown on 23 March 2020 which is still currently active to this present day of 15 September 2021. The economic impacts have been felt far and wide within the country. There is currently no research to explore whether the COVID-19 lockdown had a negative economic effect on the chiropractic profession in Gauteng, South Africa Aim: The aim of this study was to explore whether the COVID-19 lockdown in South Africa had any economic impact on the chiropractic profession in the Gauteng Province, as well as to quantify any economic effect that the lockdown may have had on the profession Method: This was a cross sectional, quantitative and explorative study which utilised an online self - administered survey which the registered chiropractors in Gauteng accessed via email through a link. The survey underwent a pilot study prior to distribution. This survey was the first of its kind, therefore it was compiled by the researchers, supervisor, and statistician, with the exception of three questions which were adapted from other studies. With the relevant permissions from the Allied Health Professions council of South Africa (AHPCSA) and the Chiropractic Association Of South Africa (CASA), these organisations agreed to distribute the survey to all registered chiropractors within the Gauteng province of South Africa. Procedure: An email containing an information letter was distributed via AHPCSA and CASA to all registered chiropractors in Gauteng, South Africa. If the chiropractor chose to partake in the study, he/she was instructed to click on a link provided in the information letter which then redirected them to a Question Pro-hosted website to answer the survey anonymously. Results: Data was obtained to determine whether chiropractors in Gauteng experienced decreased numbers in patient utilization of chiropractic services rendered, whether there was a decrease in average gross monthly income during the lockdown when compared to before the lockdown. Additionally, if income losses were experienced by participants, did they acquire financial aid, and/or resort to methods to reduce business costs. The response rate for this study was 30.76% (n=76) of registered chiropractors in...
M.Tech. (Chiropractic)