Abstract
Background: Chiropractic students are faced with many theories surrounding the profession. Mainly those relating to evidence-based practice and vitalistic philosophy. The student population is the future of the profession. As the profession aims to move towards an evidence-based approach it is of interest to determine the student attitudes. A university in Canada developed a survey which assessed attitudes towards International Chiropractic Education Collaboration (ICEC), evidence-based practice, vitalistic philosophy and interprofessional collaboration. As this South African university is a signatory to the ICEC it is of interest to determine the student attitudes towards the afore mentioned constructs. As these may give an insight to the underlying concepts chiropractic students are taught and will take into private practice in South Africa.
Aim: The aim of the study was to determine the attitudes of the University of Johannesburg chiropractic students towards the ICEC Education Position and Implementation Statement, evidence-based practice, vitalistic philosophy and interprofessional collaboration.
Method: The study design was a web-based cross-sectional quantitative study. The survey was distributed to all students enrolled in the chiropractic program in 2023 at the University of Johannesburg. The survey used a 10-point Likert scale which assessed the students level of agreement towards three constructs being evidence-based practice, vitalistic philosophy and interprofessional collaboration and then the ICEC Education Position Statement.
Results: The survey response rate was 58.78%. The students demonstrated high levels of agreement towards EBP, interprofessional collaboration and the ICEC Education Position Statement. The senior students demonstrated a lower level of agreement with a significant difference towards vitalistic philosophy (p = 0.00) and interprofessional collaboration (p = 0.04) when compared to the junior students. There was a significant difference between the senior and junior student responses towards “Evidence-based Practice, Scope of Practice, Identity and Setting” (p=0.00), with no significant difference between the junior and senior student attitudes towards “The ICEC Education Position Statement” (p=0.84 – with item C2) (p=0.62 – without item C2).
Conclusion: In conclusion, the students at the University of Johannesburg demonstrate a high level of agreement towards evidence-based constructs, interprofessional collaboration and the ICEC Education Position Statement. These results demonstrated a forward-thinking
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student body but also demonstrated the promotion of EBP in the chiropractic program at the University of Johannesburg. Student attitudes demonstrated a moderate to low level of agreement towards vitalistic philosophy. Where there was a significant difference and decreased level of agreement towards vitalistic philosophy from the junior to senior students.