Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2023 Jun 2:30:9-15.
doi: 10.1016/j.echu.2023.02.001. eCollection 2023 Dec.

Chiropractic Profession Attrition: A Narrative Review of Studies Over the Past 30 Years

Curtis Thor Rigney  1 , Sandra Grace  1 , Joanne Bradbury  1
Affiliations
Review

Chiropractic Profession Attrition: A Narrative Review of Studies Over the Past 30 Years

Curtis Thor Rigney et al. J Chiropr Humanit. .

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this review was to investigate and discuss the available literature regarding chiropractic profession attrition.

Methods: For this narrative review, searches for peer-reviewed observational and experimental papers published from January 1991 to December 2021 were conducted in the following 5 databases: MEDLINE, CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature), AMED (Allied and Complementary Medicine Database), Scopus, and Web of Science. Keywords included "chiropractic," "attrition," and "burnout, professional." Studies related to student or patient dropouts were excluded.

Results: Three of 108 identified papers met the inclusion criteria. Two studies that measured attrition rates reported between 4.5% and 27.8%. These ranges are limited to 1982 to 1991 graduates of Life College of Chiropractic West and individuals issued a California chiropractic license in 1991. The remaining study that investigated the attitudes of nonpracticing chiropractors proposed multifactorial causes leading to attrition. The 3 included studies used retrospective observational design.

Conclusion: The literature is limited, and factors linked to attrition or career mobility remain inconclusive. A better understanding of chiropractic profession attrition rates is needed to offer insights into the profession's practice environment, education, and professional outcomes. Accurate information on attrition may assist with workforce modeling and help prepare for the projected increase in musculoskeletal health care demand.

Keywords: Burnout, Professional; Career Mobility; Chiropractic.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1
PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) flowchart: chiropractic attrition.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Foreman SM, Stahl MJ. The attrition rate of licensed chiropractors in California: an exploratory ecological investigation of time-trend data. Chiropr Osteopat. 2010;18:24. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Lantz C, Mellinfont R, Thomson G, Sherwood R, Chen J. Retention of chiropractors in practice following graduation and licensure. J Neuromusculoskelet Syst. 1995;3(3):132–138.
    1. Liu S, Wang B, Fan S, Wang Y, Zhan Y, Ye D. Global burden of musculoskeletal disorders and attributable factors in 204 countries and territories: a secondary analysis of the Global Burden of Disease 2019 study. BMJ Open. 2022;12(6) - PMC - PubMed
    1. Deyo RA, Mirza SK, Martin BI. Back pain prevalence and visit rates: estimates from U.S. national surveys, 2002. Spine. 2006;31(23):2724–2727. - PubMed
    1. Hart LG, Deyo RA, Cherkin DC. Physician office visits for low back pain: frequency, clinical evaluation, and treatment patterns from a U.S. National Survey. Spine. 1995;20(1):11–19. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources