Provision of nutrition counseling, referrals to registered dietitians, and sources of nutrition information among practicing chiropractors in the United States.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate US chiropractors' provision of nutrition counseling and referrals to registered dietitians and sources of nutrition information. Chiropractors' perceptions of the minimum educational requirement for registered dietitians and nutrition training received in chiropractic school were also examined.

DESIGN

A descriptive study was conducted by use of a nationwide, mailed survey.

SUBJECTS/

SETTING

Surveys were sent to 1,590 practicing chiropractors in the United States, selected randomly from The National Directory of Chiropractic. Of the 410 responses received, 375 were usable (response rate = 23.6%).

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Descriptive statistics were used to summarize data along with the Pearson chi 2 test and Kendall tc rank correlation to determine associations for categorical questions.

RESULT: Nearly 90% of respondents provided nutrition counseling to their patients, even though the majority believed that they were inadequately trained in nutrition. One-on-one dietary instruction was the most common method of providing nutrition counseling, and supplement use was the most common health-related situation/condition for which nutrition counseling was used. Most respondents did not correctly select the minimum educational requirement for registered dietitians, did not refer patients to registered dietitians, and did not use registered dietitians as a source of nutrition information. Nevertheless, 65% of respondents anticipated increased collaborations between registered dietitians and chiropractors.

APPLICATIONS/

CONCLUSIONS

Chiropractors provide nutrition counseling to a large number of patients each year; thus, they have the potential to substantially affect patients' nutritional status. There is a clear need and opportunity for registered dietitians to collaborate with chiropractors.