Dissertation submitted in partial compliance with the requirements for the
Master’s Degree in Technology: Chiropractic, Durban University of Technology, 2011. / Introduction: The chiropractic treatment of animals has been integrated into the
veterinary health care systems of various countries outside of South Africa. While South
Africa has seen the integration of the chiropractic treatment of humans into its health
care system, the chiropractic treatment of animals has been slow to develop in this
country. This is evident in the lack of a professional association or education system
concerning the chiropractic treatment of animals in South Africa. Veterinarians
represent the primary contact for animals to receive chiropractic care through referral in
South Africa. It is therefore important to ascertain the knowledge and perception that
veterinarians have towards chiropractic and the chiropractic treatment of animals as
their views and participation could influence the future integration of chiropractic into the
veterinary health care system of South Africa.
Primary Objective: To determine the perception of veterinarians towards chiropractic
and the chiropractic treatment of animals in South Africa.
Methods: A questionnaire was set up on an Internet based website. An electronic mail
(e-mail) was then sent to all the South African veterinarians with a functional e-mail
address registered with the South African Veterinary Council (SAVC), requesting
participation in this research. This amounted to 1841 veterinarians. The veterinarians
who met the inclusion criteria were then able to access and complete the questionnaire
electronically.
Results: A response rate of 13.8% was achieved. The respondents were predominantly
white (87.1%) with an average age of 41.5 years and a nearly even split between male
and female. The veterinary respondents expressed a poor level of confidence relating to
their knowledge of chiropractic and its application to the health care of animals. The
objective knowledge scores for chiropractic and the chiropractic treatment of animals
were 65% and 63%, respectively, giving a reasonably high overall knowledge score of
64%. It was found that the knowledge scores were stronger in the respondents who had
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personally utilized a chiropractor as well as being stronger regarding human chiropractic
and overall chiropractic knowledge in those who had referred an animal to a
chiropractor.
The average score for perceptions of the respondents was relatively low (48%), but
positive correlations were found between the knowledge and perceptions of the
respondents regarding chiropractic and \ or the chiropractic treatment of animals.
It was found that the majority of the veterinarian respondents (79.9%) felt that
chiropractors should only be allowed to practice on animals in South Africa under
referral from a veterinarian. The majority of respondents (62.4%) further believed that
the chiropractic treatment of animals should be governed by the South African
Veterinary Council (SAVC) and 57.7 % of the respondents indicated that they would be
in favour of the chiropractic treatment of animals being affiliated to the South African
Veterinary Association (SAVA).
It was determined that 84.4% of the respondents were in support of the formation of a
course concerning the chiropractic treatment of animals in South Africa, with 49.1%
further stating they would be interested in attending such a course. The majority of
respondents indicated that they believed both veterinarians and chiropractors should
administer (77.2%) and be able to attend (75.1%) such a course.
Conclusion: This study has established a knowledge base that will facilitate greater
understanding of the perceptions that South African veterinarians have towards
chiropractic and the chiropractic treatment of animals as well as the part they perceive
chiropractic to play in the South African veterinary health care system. The various
outcomes should be noted when considering the future education of South African
veterinarians regarding chiropractic, as well as the development of the chiropractic
treatment of animals in South Africa.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:dut/oai:localhost:10321/623 |
| Date | January 2011 |
| Creators | Taverner, Charles Bryce |
| Contributors | Matkovich, Grant, Korporaal, Charmaine Maria |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 221 p |
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