Promoting the Profession in Asia

Seoul, South Korea, hosted the World Federation of Chiropractic (WFC) annual council meeting June 4-7, 2008. One of the council's primary goals this year was to support the Korean Chiropractic Association (KCA), which is fighting for legislation to recognize and regulate the practice of chiropractic.

The country's 120 doctors of chiropractic are opposed by the Korean medical profession (and other medical doctors in Asia) and continue to face prosecution and fines for practicing their chosen profession. The 13 members of the WFC Council, representing 90 national member associations and all regions of the world, attempted to help the KCA cause in several ways:

• Met with Congressman Choon-Jin Kim, who is leading the campaign for chiropractic legislation. Congressman Kim reported positive findings in a government-funded survey of patients released April 30, 2008.
• Visited Hanseo University, home of Korea's first government-approved school of chiropractic. Hanseo's chiropractic program is being taught in partnership with the University of Bridgeport College of Chiropractic and is in the midst of the accreditation process.
• Met with KCA members and their leaders including President Dr. Taeg Su Choi, a graduate of Life University; Dr. Joon-Han Song, a Palmer graduate; and Dr. Nari Hong, a graduate of RMIT University, Australia, to plan future strategy.
• Met with Dr. Martin Kollasch, director of international operations for the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners (U.S.), who announced Hanseo as an official testing site for NBCE exams in Asia.

"We are most grateful to the WFC," said Dr. Choi. "Its delegations to Korea in each of the past four years have been extremely helpful to our cause - we have many opponents in Korea, but with our patients and the WFC supporting us, we will win in the end."

In line with efforts to promote chiropractic throughout Asia and worldwide, the WFC announced it is sponsoring the upcoming WHO Symposium on Manual Methods of Health Care. The symposium will take place during the WHO Congress on Traditional Medicine in Beijing, Nov. 7-9, 2008.

"This demonstrates the chiropractic profession's international leadership in this field of health care," said WFC Secretary-General David Chapman-Smith. "It's important that there is a strong presence of DCs from China and internationally."

Co-sponsors include the European Chiropractors' Union, the British Chiropractic Association and the Chiropractors' Association of Australia. The symposium will examine the degree of integration of chiropractic, osteopathy and other forms of manual health care into health care systems. There also are parallel symposia covering acupuncture, herbal medicines, massage and self-care.

Christine Goertz-Choate, DC, PhD, director of research at Palmer College of Chiropractic, will give a 20-minute opening address, "Results of a Survey of Manual Methods of Health Care Practiced Internationally." Scott Haldeman, DC, MD, PhD, chair of the WFC Research Council, will give the keynote presentation, "The Research Status of Western Manual Health Care," on day two of the congress. David Chapman-Smith will speak about "Lessons on Regulation From the Experience of the Chiropractic Profession." And William Meeker, DC, MPH, president of Palmer College, will provide insight on chiropractic in the United States.

Stated objectives of the November include the following:

• reviewing the role of TM/CAM and the associated providers in primary health care, as outlined by the Alma-Ata Declaration, which encouraged all member states to include TM/CAM in their health care systems and recognize practitioners of TM/CAM;
• reviewing the progress of member states in the field of TM/CAM;
• sharing information and experience pertaining to the integration of TM/CAM into health care delivery systems;
• sharing information related to research, education and the practice of TM/CAM; and
• promoting the proper use of TM/CAM by the population.

The WHO has already held two working group meetings in preparation for the congress, one in May 2007 and the other in January 2008. According to the WHO Web site: "Starting in the early 21^st century, it was requested of national health authorities to consider ways to integrate TM/CAM into their health care delivery systems. After four years of implementation of the WHO Traditional Medicine Strategy (2002-2005), significant progress is evident."

The opening ceremony will be held at the People's Great Hall in Tiananmen Square; the Jiuhua Spa and Resort, Chang Ping Xiao Tang Mountain (Beijing) will provide hotel accommodations. For more information including speakers, topics and background on the Alma-Ata Declaration, visit www.who.int/entity/medicines/areas/traditional/congress/en/index.html or www.wfc.org/WHOBeijingSymposium.