Abstract
Background: Currently, research into the perceptions of South African chiropractors toward the adequacy
of the teaching of anatomical sciences in chiropractic curricula and the relevance of anatomy to clinical
practice is lacking. There has not been a survey or questionnaire of this kind to ascertain the perceptions
of South African chiropractors on this topic.
Aim: The primary aim of this study was to evaluate the perceptions of registered South-African
chiropractors residing in Kwa-Zulu Natal, Western Cape, Free state, North West and Limpopo toward the
adequacy of the teaching of anatomical sciences within chiropractic curricula and the relevance of
anatomy in clinical practice. The secondary aim of this study was to determine the type of resources and
the most useful resources used to assist anatomical teaching in chiropractic curricula.
Method: This was a quantitative, cross-sectional and explorative study. Using the membership databases
of the Allied Health Professions Council of South Africa (AHPCSA) and the Chiropractic Association of
South Africa (CASA), a self-administered online English questionnaire was distributed to South African
chiropractors via an email link. A pilot study was conducted before the distribution of the survey to
qualified and registered chiropractors. The questionnaire used in this study was amended from a
questionnaire used in a similar study conducted by Giuriato, Štrkalj, Prvan and Pather., (2020) to
ascertain Australian Doctors of Chiropractic perceptions’ of the clinical relevance of anatomical sciences
and adequacy of teaching in chiropractic curricula.
Procedure: An email, including the information letter and link to the questionnaire, was sent to the
AHPCSA and CASA for distribution to all registered members of each association, respectively. If the
chiropractor was interested in taking part in the survey, they were instructed to click on the link provided
in the email, redirecting them to the Question Pro hosted website, where the questionnaire could be
answered anonymously. Data was collected from chiropractors residing in Kwa-Zulu Natal, Western
Cape, Free State, North West and Limpopo. Participants are awarded 1 CEU point by the AHPCSA after
completing the survey. A separate link was available, to redirect participants to the CEU point page to
ensure anonymity.
Results: Data was collected to determine South African chiropractors' perceptions of the clinical
relevance of anatomical sciences and the adequacy of their teaching in chiropractic curricula. The
response rate for this study was 31% (n = 92) of qualified and registered chiropractors in the participating
VII
provinces of South Africa. The study revealed that 95.6% of participants perceived their gross anatomy
knowledge as adequate; 79.3% of participants perceived their histology knowledge as adequate; 73.4%
of participants perceived their neuroanatomy knowledge as adequate and 52.8% of participants
perceived their embryology knowledge as adequate.
This study revealed that 97.9% of participants found gross anatomy to be relevant to clinical practice;
45.1% of participants found histology to be relevant to clinical practice; 93.5% of participants found
neuroanatomy to be relevant to clinical practice and 43.5% of participants found embryology to be
relevant to clinical practice.
The most useful anatomy teaching tools were cadaveric dissections (97.8%), medical imaging (96.7%)
and prosected human materials (86.6%).
Conclusion: Most respondents perceived their knowledge of anatomy as high and relevant to clinical
practice. These results were consistent with previous studies in Australia. Teaching tools pereceived as
most useful to learn anatomy included cadaveric dissection, medical imaging and prosected human
materials.
Keywords: Chiropractic; Anatomical sciences; anatomy curriculum; allied health; gross anatomy;
chiropractic education.