Exploration of chiropractic students' motivation toward the incorporation of new evidence on chiropractic maintenance care: a mixed methods study.

OBJECTIVES

This sequential explanatory mixed-method study aimed to explore chiropractic students' attitudes toward incorporating maintenance care (MC) focused evidence.

METHODS

Attitudes towards using an evidence-based clinical protocol for maintenance care (MC), the MAINTAIN instrument, were assessed via surveys, monologue responses, dialogues, and qualitative feedback. Participants from a single chiropractic educational institution completed questionnaires evaluating their perspectives on patient-centeredness, chronic pain, and evidence incorporation. Descriptive statistics summarized quantitative data, while content analysis was used for qualitative data.

RESULTS

74.4% (n=419) of students participated, mostly male (57.5%), with an average GPA of 3.15 (out of a maximum of 4.0). Qualitative analysis identified the need to clarify MC terminology and factors motivating students to adopt new evidence, such as quality and alignment with healthcare beliefs.

CONCLUSIONS

This study's findings emphasize the importance of refining healthcare training strategies, including defining terminology and addressing motivators for evidence incorporation, as evidence for MC for low back pain evolves.