Chiropractors' characteristics associated with their number of workers' compensation patients.
METHODS
A cross-sectional survey.


OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to identify characteristics of Canadian doctors of chiropractic (DCs) associated with their number of workers' compensation patients.


BACKGROUND
It has been previously hypothesized that DCs that treat a relatively high volume of workers' compensation cases may have different characteristics than the general chiropractic community.


METHODS
Secondary data analyses were performed on data collected in the 2011 survey of the Canadian Chiropractic Resources Databank (CCRD). The CCRD survey included 81 questions concerning the practice and concerns of DCs. Of the 6,533 mailed questionnaires, 2,529 (38.7%) were returned. Of these, 652 respondents did not meet our inclusion criteria, and our final study sample included 1,877 respondents. Bivariate analyses were conducted between predetermined independent variables and the annual number of workers' compensation patients. A negative binomial multivariate regression was performed to identify significant factors associated with the number of workers' compensation patients.


RESULTS
On average, DCs received 10.3 (standard deviation (SD) = 17.6) workers' compensation cases and nearly one-third did not receive any such cases. The type of clinic (other than sole provider), practice area population (smaller than 500,000), practice province (other than Quebec), number of practice hours per week, number of treatments per week, main sector of activity (occupational/ industrial), care provided to patients (electrotherapy, soft-tissue therapy), percentage of patients with neuromusculoskeletal conditions, and percentage of patients referred by their employer or a physician were associated with a higher annual number of workers' compensation cases.


CONCLUSIONS
Canadian DCs who reported a higher volume of workers' compensation patients had practices oriented towards the treatment of injured workers, collaborated with other health care providers, and facilitated workers' access to care.
Public Health PhD Program, School of Public Health, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada.
Marc-André
MA
Blanchette
Institute of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics, Faculty of Health, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark; ; Division of Health Care and Outcomes Research, Toronto Western Research Institute, University Health Network, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada; ; Division of Epidemiology, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; ; Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
J David
JD
Cassidy
Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada; ; Public Health Research Institute, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada.
Michèle
M
Rivard
Department of Rehabilitation, Faculty of Medicine, Université Laval, Québec City, QC, Canada; ; Axe Santé des populations et pratiques optimales en santé, Centre de recherche du CHU de Québec (CHUQ), Québec City, QC, Canada.
Clermont E
CE
Dionne
Workers’ Compensation Board; care seeking; chiropractic; occupational; survey; work related