Demographic survey of pediatric patients presenting to chiropractic clinics in Norway: A short report

By Anna Allen-Unhammer, DC, MChiro

Anna Allen-Unhammer, DC, MChiro, private practice, Markveien Fysikalske Institutt, Oslo, Norway
Contact: annajaneallen@gmail.com

Introduction: The use of chiropractic services among pediatric patients has become a world-wide growth industry over the past 10 years (Miller, 2010). Yet the demographic features of patients under 18 years of age in Norway are sparsely reported in the research literature. Accordingly, the aim of this study was to investigate the usage of chiropractic care by pediatric patients in Norway over a 12-month period. The main goals of this study were to determine the frequency of presentation in each age group, reasons for seeking care and to report on referral patterns to chiropractors.

Methods: This was a year long, nationwide, paper-based survey. Now nearing its end, the study´s data collection began in December 2012 and is due to end in November 2013. The month of July 2013 was omitted due to school summer holidays. The lengthy data collection period was to account for seasonal variations, as adopted by a Danish study by Hestbæk, Jørgensen and Hartvigsenin 2009.

All chiropractors in Norway, registered with the Norwegian chiropractic association (NKF) were invited to participate via email. Each chiropractor who agreed to participate was assigned one month to collect data. Eligible participants were all new patients or patients who had not had treatment in the past year, below the age of 18. Patients were asked to complete questionnaires containing information on presenting complaint and possible consequences of this complaint, age, reasons for seeking care, referral patterns and the use of pain medication.

Descriptive statistical analysis was performed using Microsoft Excel. Ethical approval was sought and granted by the AECC ethics committee, Norwegian data protection services (Norwegian Samfunnvitenskapelig Datatjeneste, NSD) and Norwegian ethics committee (Regional Etisk Komittee og personvernombudet, REK). Individual Informed Consent was  obtained from the parent if the child was below 16 years of age and from the patient if they were between 16 and 18 years of age.

Results: So far, a total of 137 completed questionnaires have been received, representing 137 pediatric patient visits (0-18 years of age). The majority of pediatric patients presenting to chiropractors in Norway during the study period to date were in the 0-1 year age category (46%), followed by the 12-17 years of age category (21%). Fifty-seven percent were male while forty-three percent were female.

Pediatric patients between the ages of 0-3 months were the most common age group presenting to chiropractors in Norway (See Figure 1). Of the 62 patients that were below one year of age, 87% were less than four months of age. Excessive crying accounted for more than half of the visits in the 0-3 month old category. Older children between two and 17 years of age presented with predominantly musculoskeletal complaints (31%). These increased with age from 50% in pre-school children to 76% in teenagers.

figure 1

Thirty-three percent of children were referred to chiropractors by people other than family and friends. Both general practitioners and health visitors referred babies to Norwegian chiropractors, while teenagers were primarily sent by general practitioners.

Further Comments: This is a short progress report on the data received to date. Complete data will be available in approximately one year's time. So far, data from Norway seems to corroborate the findings from other pediatric demographic surveys from around the world (Hestbæk, Jørgensen and Hartvigsen, 2009; Miller, 2010, Doyle, 2011).

Competing Interests: This study was funded by the Norwegian Association’s research fund. No other competing interests.

References:

  1. Doyle M. A multinational survey of the demographic of chiropractic paediatric care. Clinical Chiropractic 2011:14(4).

  2. Hestbæk L., Jørgensen, A., Hartvigsen, J. A description of children and adolescents in Danish chiropractic practice: Results from a nationwide survey. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics 2009; 32(8): 607 – 615.

  3. Miller J. Demographic survey of pediatric patients presenting to a chiropractic teaching clinic. Chiropractic and Osteopathy 2010; 18: 33.