Attitudes towards chiropractic care among the healthcare community in Ghana, Africa

Recently, Ghana has undergone healthcare reform designed to offer universal coverage. As the healthcare system in Ghana is further developed, there may be opportunity to offer additional complementary and alternative medicine practices such as chiropractic in hopes of creating more integrative care. This study aims to provide a preliminary understanding of local perceptions of what chiropractic is, and how to best make chiropractic a valued part of the Ghanaian healthcare system within the context of the current utilization patterns. Eleven healthcare providers and administrators were interviewed using a short semi-structured interview guide. The three respondents with the least medical education responded that they did not know what chiropractic was. The others could provide some explanation, with common responses being that chiropractic deals with the spine or back (5 of 11) and does not use medicine (3 of 11). One of the respondents who said he did not know what chiropractic was said that chiropractic would be perceived as a miracle because it is manual and does not involve pills. This study demonstrates the need for further research and education to adequately define the possible role chiropractic might have in developing countries, and for interventions to provide a better understanding of chiropractic care. Additionally, responses indicate that caution must be exercised so that underserved communities are not misled inadvertently about what chiropractic can offer.