DAVENPORT, Iowa, Sept. 8, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to a new Gallup report released today, an estimated 33.6 million U.S. adults (14 percent) used chiropractic care within the last 12 months. Studies from other sources, including the 2012 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), have measured yearly chiropractic use at about 20.6 million U.S. adults (8 percent).
The report, officially named, the "Gallup-Palmer College of Chiropractic Inaugural Report: Americans' Perceptions of Chiropractic," also indicates that more than half of U.S. adults view doctors of chiropractic positively and agree they're effective at treating neck and back pain. However, nearly half of U.S. adults don't know whether their insurance covers chiropractic care.
Palmer College of Chiropractic commissioned Gallup to conduct this first-ever nationally representative annual survey measuring perceptions of, and experiences with, chiropractic among U.S. adults. The survey will be repeated for at least two more years.
"The goal of this groundbreaking project is to get an objective understanding of why adult Americans choose or don't choose to see a doctor of chiropractic," said Palmer College of Chiropractic Chancellor Dennis Marchiori, D.C., Ph.D. "For years, we've heard from other sources that about 8 percent of Americans seek chiropractic care each year. Gallup found that number to be 14 percent. That's great news, but the number is still too low. This project will help the profession learn what barriers exist and then take steps to remove them."
Highlights of the study results are online at www.gallup.com/poll/184910/majority-say-chiropractic-works-neck-back-pain.aspx. Additional information and resources for chiropractors are available at www.palmer.edu/gallup-report.
In addition, a scientific article based on this research was published online today by the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics. The article is titled, "Public Perceptions of Doctors of Chiropractic: Results of a National Survey and Examination of Variation According to Respondents' Likelihood to Use Chiropractic, Experience With Chiropractic, and Chiropractic Supply in Local Health Care Markets."
Results of the Gallup report are based on a Gallup Panel study of 5,442 national adults, aged 18 and older, conducted Feb. 16 to May 6, 2015, via the Web and by mail. The maximum margin of sampling error for this study is ±2 percentage points, with a 95 percent confidence level.
Palmer College of Chiropractic is the founding college of the chiropractic profession, and is known as the trusted leader in chiropractic education. It was founded in 1897, in Davenport, Iowa, by D.D. Palmer, the discoverer of chiropractic. Palmer College of Chiropractic has approximately 2,100 students at its campuses in Davenport, Iowa; Port Orange, Fla.; and San Jose, Calif.