title: Collaborative community-based teaching clinics at the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College: addressing the needs of local poor communities.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Inequities in access to health services, resulting from cuts in public sector budgets and inflation, greatly affect Canada's poorest and most vulnerable people. The purpose of this article is to describe the experiences of the community-based teaching clinics of the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College (CMCC), located in the poor, inner city region of Toronto, where access to chiropractic care for this population has been enabled.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Three chiropractic teaching clinics have been established in host facilities in the inner city community of Toronto. For over a decade, CMCC has had collaborative chiropractic clinics in the Sherbourne Health Centre (a southeast Toronto primary care facility), and Anishnawbe Health Toronto (an aboriginal health facility addressing the needs of urban First Nations people). For 3 years, we have been providing chiropractic services in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at St Michael's Hospital. The priority for these programs was the minimization of economic barriers to accessing care for poor and marginalized people. Outcomes have demonstrated high use when there is no economic barrier, excellent clinical outcomes and patient satisfaction, and a high level of collaboration with other health practitioners.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The CMCC's external clinics program has enabled access to chiropractic services to thousands of people living in the inner city and urban aboriginal communities of Toronto. This has resulted in the minimization of barriers to accessing care, the provision of appropriate and effective care, and collaboration. These clinics also greatly increase students' awareness of, sensitivity to, and commitment to being part of the solution to these problems.
authors.affiliation: Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. kopansky-gilesd@smh.toronto.on.ca
authors.forename: Deborah
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kopansky-Giles
authors.forename: Howard
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Vernon
authors.forename: Igor
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Steiman
authors.forename: Anthony
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tibbles
authors.forename: Philip
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Decina
authors.forename: Jarrod
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Goldin
authors.forename: Maureen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kelly
mesh_terms: D002170:Canada; D002684:Chiropractic / Q000379:methods*; D003153:Community Health Services; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D033183:Interdisciplinary Communication; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013663:Teaching / Q000379:methods*; D014495:Universities