General practitioners’ knowledge, perception and utilisation of services in the Chiropractic management of musculoskeletal disorders in Harare, Zimbabwe

Abstract

The World Health Organization ranks musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) as the second largest cause of premature termination of one’s career. Consequently, the burden of MSD and limited primary health care in developing countries warrants the need for an integrative approach to health care. Although Chiropractic Therapy (CT) has emerged as a well-recognised form of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM), particularly in MSD, there is a paucity of literature on knowledge and perceptions of General Practitioners (GPs) about CT in developing countries. Therefore, this study examined the knowledge, perceptions and utilisation of GPs towards CT. A questionnaire-based, cross-sectional study obtained data from 48 GPs in private practice in the Avenues suburb of Harare, Zimbabwe. Of the 48 respondents (55% response rate from 88 questionnaires distributed), approximately one-third (31.3%; n=15) never heard of CT. Of those who had heard of CT (n=33), almost two-thirds (66.7%; n=22) believed chiropractors to be competent in the treatment of musculoskeletal complaints and approximately one-third (35.4%; n=17) in the treatment of neurological ailments. There was a positive correlation between knowledge and perception (r=0.668) of CT. However, the association between knowledge and utilisation of CT services was not statistically significant (p=0.4), while the relationship between perception and CT utilisation was statistically significant (p=0.006). This finding suggests that the perception of CT influenced a GP’s referral of patients to a chiropractor. The study highlights the need for improving the knowledge and perceptions of CT among GPs as a basis for improving CT utilisation in developing countries, where an interdisciplinary approach to MSD may serve as an efficient alternative to conventional medical care.