Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine the perceptions and opinions of the paediatricians in private practice in Gauteng, South Africa, towards the chiropractic approach of paediatric care. An online survey was electronically distributed to the 244 Gauteng-based paediatricians in private practice who were members of the Paediatric Management Group (PMG). MyEcho, an online survey programme, was used to design the survey questionnaire and to capture the results thereof. The questionnaire was made available for online completion between 24 May 2019 and 24 July 2019. STATKON, the University of Johannesburg’s statistics programme did the data analysis which was further interpreted by the researcher. There was a total of 68 responses and a response rate of 24%. There were 59 valid responses (where more than 50% of the research questionnaire was completed) and 52 fully completed questionnaires. The results of this study based on the paediatricians’ awareness and insights of the chiropractic approach to paediatric patients and care revealed that most of the Gauteng-based paediatricians poorly understood even basic details of chiropractic education, qualification, training and clinical experience. The Gautengbased paediatricians were best aware of the paediatric related complaints that commonly presented to chiropractors. According to the reports of the participating Gauteng-based paediatricians, there has been a very limited number of inter-referrals between the chiropractic profession and their own. The results of this study further revealed that the participating Gauteng-based paediatricians had a stronger multidisciplinary relationship with physiotherapists when likened to chiropractors. The results of this study showed that 68% of the Gauteng-based paediatricians who participated in this study viewed chiropractic treatment for children under 15-years as safe. Twenty-eight percent viewed it as unsafe. Approximately 4% remained undecided.
M.Tech. (Chiropractic)