Chiropractic to Make a Splash at the 2009 APHA Annual Meeting
Sunday, February 14, 2010 at 10:26AM 
Claire Johnson, DC, MSEd
Communications Chair, Chiropractic Health Care section - APHA
The annual meeting of the American Public Health Association (APHA) will take place November 8 to 11, 2009 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This is the largest gathering of public health professionals in the world with attendees numbering over 12,000. The Chiropractic Health Care (CHC) section is one of 25 major sections in APHA. Once again the section will present five strong scientific sessions along with two business meetings and a joint social with the Public Health Education and Health Promotion (PHEHP) section and the School Health Education and Services (SHES) section. We will have a notable presence on the convention floor with our Megabooth in conjunction with Vision Care, Oral Care and Podiatry.
The CHC section will hold its annual business meetings on November 8 and 9 and the scientific sessions will be held on Monday November 9. Presenters representing many of the major chiropractic colleges and research departments will be presenting their research at the following sessions:
1. Chiropractic Education and Public Health: This session will look at a number of topics related to chiropractic education, including surveys of student attitudes, creation of a new program in a prominent medical college, and needs assessment for chiropractic at the state level.
2. Current Research in Chiropractic: This session will look at the attitudes chiropractic students have toward the use and teaching of physical therapy, at how different strategies can be used for testing, and how baseline levels of pain and other outcome measures can predict final self-reported pain.
3. Developing Integrative Approaches to Patient Care: This session provides papers looking at the use of chiropractic in military settings, both in terms of integration and of the characteristics of those already in the system. In addition, utilization issues are described for referral patterns between MDs and CAM practitioners, as well integration patterns at a chiropractic college teaching clinic setting.
4. Models of Wellness Care in Practice: The primary topic discussed in this session is health promotion, and this is looked at in different settings. In addition, health diets are described as they were developed and implemented in a community-based chiropractic college teaching clinic. Information is given on influenza biology, in recognition of the global H1N1 flu crisis, and chiropractic attitudes toward immunization are described and reviewed on way to a new proposal for same.
5. Adverse Event Reporting and UPIRTSO: The primary purpose for this session is to examine adverse event reporting within chiropractic research settings. In addition, this session will look at how fractures have been reported in the chiropractic literature, and it will provide information relating to a public health website for use by chiropractors.
Chief among the goals for the coming year is to expand awareness of musculoskeletal issues as a major public health concern. The time has come for the CHC take a leadership role in the Association. Musculoskeletal disease is a significant public health problem that is contributing to the rising costs of healthcare. The CHC through joint efforts with the US Bone and Joint Decade (USBJD) will work to elevate awareness of this issue and be an integral part of working toward efforts to improve prevention and work toward more cost effective care. The goal of the incoming chair is to see the CHC submit a resolution to have the Governing council endorse the tenets of the USBJD and also to see the APHA have a dedicated session to addressing public health issues associated with musculoskeletal disease. For more information about attending the APHA annual meeting, please visit the website http://apha.confex.com/apha/137am/webprogram/CHC.html.
The Chiropractic Health Care Section of the APHA (APHA-CHC), founded in 1995, has maintained a critical role in public health issues such as wellness, health promotion and disease prevention in the context of chiropractic policies and practices. For more information about the CHC, please visithttp://www.apha.org/membergroups/sections/aphasections/chc/
