Editor's note: The following reports are reprinted with permission from the World Federation of Chiropractic's latest Quarterly World Report (June 2010). To view the complete report, visit www.wfc.org.
Denmark: Below is first notice of the new Danish Chiropractic Research Stipend. This offers funding of up to DKK1 million (approximately US$175,000) per project for chiropractors residing outside Denmark who wish to conduct research as a PhD student or at a post-doctorate level:
The Danish Chiropractors' Association and The Foundation for Chiropractic Research and Postgraduate Education (a research foundation established by Denmark's healthcare authorities and the Danish Chiropractors' Association) have set up the international Danish Chiropractic Research Stipend. A primary objective of the stipend is to strengthen the bonds between Danish and foreign research environments; this includes underpinning foreign researchers' contributions to building up and further developing a knowledge environment in Denmark.
It is possible to apply for funding from The Foundation for Chiropractic Research and Postgraduate Education to support research conducted by a foreign chiropractor at a Danish research institution.
An application form must be used to apply for support. The form and further details about application guidelines are available on the Danish Chiropractors' Association's website: www.danskkiropraktorforening.dk.
The application must include a detailed description of the project, including its objective, as well as a specification of the amount being applied for and the amount of funding received from the home country of the researcher in question.
There are two application deadlines every year: 15 August and 15 January. Applications will be processed at a meeting of The Foundation for Chiropractic Research and Postgraduate Education in late October and late April, respectively. Applicants will be directly informed of the results.
Further details are available by contacting the Danish Chiropractors' Association at: dkf@danskkiropraktorforening.dk.
The overall grant framework is DKK2 million per year. The joint sources of the funds are the Danish government and chiropractic profession. In Denmark there is public funding for chiropractic services. Since 1991, there has been agreement between the Danish Chiropractors' Association (DCA) and the government that a small portion of each treatment fee will go into a research fund jointly administered by the DCA and the government. This fund, which has been instrumental in developing chiropractic research capacity in Denmark, now produces approximately US$3 million per year. Part of those funds are now being made available internationally.
Israel: Many years of work by the Israeli Chiropractic Society (ICS) were rewarded on March 16 when the Israeli Knesset passed legislation to recognize and regulate the practice of chiropractic in Israel. Dr. Pini Noyman and Dr. Shahar Kenin, ICS president and past president, respectively, report that the new law authorizes diagnosis and treatment as taught in accredited chiropractic educational programs, and that the existence of agreed international accreditation standards now adopted by the World Health Organization was an important factor in acceptance of the new law.
In Israel there are 90 graduates of accredited colleges who now qualify for licensure under the legislation. They serve a population of almost 7 million. Despite the previous absence of legal recognition, many work in hospitals, publicly funded health maintenance organizations and other clinics, and the military. However, the profession's public image has been damaged since the early 1990s by many unqualified practitioners who perform spinal manipulative therapy and "chiropractic" as part of their practices. They arrived on the scene when alternative medicine practices and colleges flooded the country in the early 1990s.
"The medical doctors on the Ministry of Health's committee reviewing the proposed new law were not against us at any time in the process," says Dr. Kenin, "and restriction from primary contact with patients was not raised in any of the discussions."
This was a significant turnaround. At various times during the past 20 years the ICS was offered legislation on the basis that the ability to diagnose was not recognized and was not in the scope of practice. As elsewhere in the world, this was always rejected by the profession - the wisdom of that can now be seen.
Japan: The Japanese Association of Chiropractors (JAC) reports that on May 17, for the first time, government policy on regulating chiropractic was debated in a parliamentary session. Representative Mr. Msao Akamatsu questioned the minister of health, who acknowledged the effectiveness of chiropractic as regulated in the U.S. and other countries, and noted that WHO had published Guidelines on Basic Training and Safety in Chiropractic. However, the government claimed it required further investigation before making a policy decision.
The JAC continues to work closely with current ruling party representatives and is forming a support organization for them. In addition, the JAC has established a Japan Chiropractic Register (JCR) to identify chiropractors who meet international educational standards as set forth in the WHO Guidelines. For this purpose, a standardized examination is being developed with the assistance of the International Board of Chiropractic Examiners.
Jordan: The World Federation of Chiropractic's 5th Annual Eastern Mediterranean Region Seminar, held April 24-25 at the Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST) in Irbid, Jordan, was attended by chiropractors from 10 countries in the region - Cyprus, Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. It featured an interdisciplinary spine care conference as part of an ongoing project to commence a first chiropractic school in and for the Middle East at JUST; and the formation of the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle Eastern Chiropractic Federation (EMMECF), a new regional association. Elected officers of EMMECF are Dr. Stathis Papadopoulos (Cyprus), president; Dr. Mustafa Agaoglu (Turkey), vice president; Dr. Samer Shebib (Syria), vice president; Dr. Abdullah Al-Harbi (Saudi Arabia), treasurer; and Dr. Reza Jafari (Iran), secretary.
Keynote chiropractic speakers at the seminar included Dr. Jean Moss, president of Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College (speaking on chiropractic education); Dr. Scott Haldeman (speaking on the BJD Neck Pain Task Force and its new model of neck pain and its management); and Dr. John Triano (speaking on management of back pain and the biomechanical effects of spinal manipulation). Keynote speakers from the JUST School of Medicine included surgeons Dr. Mohammad Barbarawi (cervical spine) and Drs. Ziad Odat (lumbar spine), and Khalid El-Salem, associated professor of neurology.
JUST is the second largest public university in Jordan. It focuses entirely on health and sciences and has over 20,000 students. Programs include medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, nursing, veterinary medicine, and allied health sciences including PT, OT, optometry and speech pathology. Its impressive campus is spread over 3,000 acres.
Malaysia: The International Medical University in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, featured its new school of chiropractic as a front-page story in a recent newsletter to students, faculty and alumni. The new IMU school of chiropractic was launched in March with a first intake of 30 students. Dean of chiropractic is Dr. Michael Haneline.
With the school now established, the Chiropractic Association of Malaysia, led by AECC graduate Dr. Vishwadeep Sandhu, anticipates that there will be a first parliamentary reading of a draft law to regulate chiropractic in the very near future.
Norway: At the ECU Convention in London, Dr. Oystein Ogre, president of the Norwegian Chiropractors' Association since 2002, was also elected ECU president. Dr. Ogre (Palmer College, 1980) has been in private practice in Fredrikstad, Norway since 1981, where he works in a multidisciplinary setting and has an extensive sports chiropractic practice. For 15 years he was the chiropractor for the Fredrikstad Football Club, a leading team in the Norwegian Premiership League, and he served as president of the club from 1994-1996.
Dr. Ogre has lectured extensively on chiropractic in Norway, stays active in his leisure time with running, cross-country skiing and kayaking, and is married with three children. Achievements of the profession in Norway during his presidency include the right to certify sick leave; right to refer patients to hospitals, medical specialists and physiotherapy; reimbursement for all patients; implementation of a mandatory one-year internship program; state funding for supervisors of interns; state funding for continuing education; and a vote by the Norwegian Parliament in support of starting chiropractic education in a university in Norway - for which plans are well-advanced.
This is an important year for the Norwegian Chiropractors Association - the NCA will hold its 75th anniversary convention in Bergen, Oct. 22-23, 2010.
South Africa: In the absence of any external chiropractic accrediting agency for Africa, the two South African schools have applied to the European Council on Chiropractic Education (ECCE) for accreditation. The program at the Durban University of Technology has recently achieved ECCE accreditation and the program at the University of Johannesburg is well-advanced in the application process.
At its recent council meeting in Budapest, the WFC Council decided to hold its 12th Biennial Congress (2013) in Durban, South Africa, hosted by the Chiropractors' Association of South Africa (CASA). The association produced an exciting bid supported by the Durban International Convention Center - exact date and more news in the months ahead.
United Kingdom: The ECU Annual Convention was held in London May 13-15 and featured an outstanding academic and social program. Officers elected for a full-year term in addition to Dr. Ogre (Norway, elected as president) were Drs. Barry Lewis as vice president (U.K.) and Vasileios Gkolfi Nopoulos as treasurer (Greece). Dr. Philippe Druart, ECU president for the past eight years, was honored for his outstanding service.
At the Fédération Internationale de Chiropratique du Sport (FICS) Annual Council Meeting, held at the same time, Dr. Tom Greenway of London confirmed that there will be chiropractic services included in the polyclinic for all athletes at the London Summer Olympics in 2012. He represents the British Chiropractic Sports Council and the chiropractic profession on the Physical Rehabilitation Work Group for the London Organizing Committee.
