Editor's note: The following reports are reprinted with permission from the World Federation of Chiropractic's latest Quarterly World Report (December 2009). To view the complete report, visit www.wfc.org.
Bolivia: Dr. Ronald Lee Firestone, secretary of the Associacion Boliviana de Quiropracticos Cientificos Profesionales, the WFC's member association in Bolivia, reports that the ABQCP now has eight members. The practice of chiropractic is recognized and regulated in Bolivia, by law passed in March 2001 (Resolucion Prefectural no. 108/01). Dr. Firestone reports good current relations with authorities. The ABQCP president is Dr. Homer Firestone who, like his father Ronald, is a graduate of Southern California University of Health Sciences (LACC). Contact: Dr. Homer Firestone at rusty_firestone@yahoo.com.
Brazil: The 3rd National Congress of the Brazilian Chiropractors Association (ABQ), held at the University Anhembi Murumbi in Sao Paulo, Oct. 8-10, 2009, was well-attended and a great success. Chiropractors from throughout Latin America attended because there was also the Annual Meeting of the Federacion Latino-Americana de Quiropractica (FLAQ). A large audience of chiropractors and students heard positive reports on the ongoing legislative and legal campaigns from Dr. Sira Borges and Dr. Evergisto Lopes. In an associated meeting, WFC Secretary-General David Chapman-Smith met with ABQ President Dr. Juliana Piva and other members of the ABQ Executive, and then Dr. Eduardo Bracher and others on the Program Planning Committee, with respect to the WFC's 11th Biennial Congress to be held in Rio de Janeiro April 7-9, 2011.
Canada: The December issue of the Canadian Chiropractic Association's Research Bulletin, available online at www.chiropracticcanada.ca/en-us/Research/ResearchBulletins.aspx, confirms the impressive and growing depth of chiropractic research and research capacity in Canada. It reports on three new university chiropractic research chairs with joint funding from the CCA and the Canadian government (Canadian Institute for Health Research - CIHR) as of July 2010:
- CCRF Professorship in Spine Biomechanics and Neurophysiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg;
- CCRF Professorship in Rehabilitation Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal; and
- CCRF Research Chair in Neuromusculoskeletal Health, Faculty of Kinesiology and Health Studies, University of Regina, Saskatchewan.
See the Bulletin for details of all research chairs/professorships at 10 major public universities across Canada. The Bulletin also reports on a chiropractic research agenda workshop with CIHR funding held in Montreal on Oct. 1-2, 2009. This brought together many leading health science researchers from universities across Canada, including 16 DC, PhDs with university research positions. The workshop was followed by a reception and dinner at McGill University, where the CCRF Professorship in Rehabilitation Epidemiology was formally announced, and presentations were made by, among others, Dr. Richard Valade, CCA president, and Dr. Richard Levin, dean, Faculty of Medicine and vice president of McGill University.
Chile: Last October, the Universidad de las Americas (UDLA) in Santiago, Chile announced it will receive first students at its new school of chiropractic in March 2010. The dean of chiropractic will be Dr. Rodrigo Pinochet, a graduate of the Anglo-European College of Chiropractic Conversion Program held for kinesiologists in Chile in 2005-06. Dr. Pinochet currently serves as director of health sciences at the university.
The ULDA is a private university owned by Laureate Education, which has over 500,000 students at its network of 45 universities in North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia. Some three years ago, Laureate purchased the University Anhembi Morumbi in Sao Paulo, Brazil, which has one of Brazil's two chiropractic programs; the curriculum and program in Chile will be based upon those at UAM.
Costa Rica: The four countries in Latin America where chiropractic is regulated by law are Bolivia, Costa Rica, Mexico and Panama. The Colegio, or Regulatory College, in Costa Rica advises that in elections held on November 2009, new board members and officers elected were Steven Harlow, DC, president; Alejandra Patricia Rodrguez Prez, DC, vice president; Michael Norton, DC, secretary; and Ron Hash, DC, Sashe Ellison, DC, and Marishel Morales, DC, board members. Contact: Dr. Norton at docnorton10@hotmail.com.
Denmark: Professor Jan Hartvigsen advises that The Society for Back Pain Research, a U.K.-based multidisciplinary society established in 1971 and promoting the study of all clinical and scientific aspects of spinal pain, is to hold a conference titled: The Life Course of Back Pain--Are We Making a Difference? at the University of Southern Denmark on June 10-11, 2010. Prominent medical speakers include Professor Richard Deyo, Dr. Jonathan Brooks, and Professor Claus Manniche. Prominent chiropractic researchers and speakers include Professor Charlotte Leboeuf-Yde, Dr. Lise Hestback and Professor Jan Hartvigsen. Dr. Peter Kent leads a pre-conference workshop on June 9 on Databases and Back Pain Research. For more information regarding the conference, visit www.sdu.dk/backpain2010.
Ghana: The chiropractic profession has a long tradition of bold and exciting pioneers. In this issue of the QWR we introduce you to yet another - Dr. Marcus Manns of Ghana. Dr. Manns is a Life University graduate who arrived in Ghana and opened his first clinic nearly 10 years ago. Dr. Manns, an American from Virginia whose wife and four daughters are Ghanaian, now practices with associates in several clinics. He has established widespread recognition and acceptance of chiropractic services in Ghana. With the substantial support he is getting from both Life University and Life Chiropractic College West, a part of his vision is that Ghana will have the first chiropractic college in sub-Saharan Africa.
