On Jan. 24 1978, the New Zealand governor-general referred to a Commission of Inquiry an investigation to determine the desirability of providing for reimbursement of chiropractic benefits under the New Zealand Social Security Act and the New Zealand Accident Compensation Act. The commision's findings would impact chiropractic worldwide for decades to come.
Teaching Evidence-Based Chiropractic
Palmer College of Chiropractic recently announced that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has renewed the R25 grant for the college's ongoing "Expanding Evidence-Based Clinical Practice (EBCP) and Research Across Palmer College of Chiropractic" project. The grant award allows for continuation of the initial four-year project, designed to "incorporate EBCP principles into courses and clinical education activities." In a press release announcing the grant renewal, Christine Goertz, DC, PhD, vice chancellor for research and health policy, commented on the significance of the project:
"We hope to see [the] adoption of EBCP attitudes, knowledge and skills by Palmer graduates who are effectively practicing evidence-based clinical decision-making in an environment that increasingly demands interdisciplinary cooperation and an emphasis on patient outcomes," she said.
The Palmer Center for Chiropractic Research provides an overview of the project on its Web site as follows: "Palmer College ... seeks to increase the quality and quantity of the research and evidence-based clinical practice (EBCP) content that Doctor of Chiropractic (DC) students receive in the curriculum. We have partnered with collaborators at the University of Iowa and Thomas Jefferson University to develop and implement a program to train our faculty in EBCP principles and to provide assistance and resources to incorporate EBCP principles into courses and clinical educational activities. We are also training selected faculty in clinical research through our graduate program and are significantly expanding our Research Honors program to provide DC students with the opportunity for a mentored research experience. The long-term goal of our program is to train chiropractors to have the knowledge, skills and attitudes to implement an evidence-based model of clinical chiropractic practice that will ultimately affect provider behaviors and enhance patient outcomes."
Cynthia Long, PhD, the principal investigator of "Expanding Evidence-Based Clinical Practice and Research Across Palmer College of Chiropractic" noted in the press release that Palmer faculty at all three Palmer campuses already have been trained in EBCP, with plans for additional faculty to receive training at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, as well as at the University of Iowa, one of the universities partnering with Palmer on the project.