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Table 2 Difference in GP attitudes about Chiropractors and Osteopaths: binary response questionsa (n = 630)

From: An indication of current views of Australian general practitioners towards chiropractic and osteopathy: a cross-sectional study

Survey question

YES

NOb

Differencec (95 % CI)

p

Non-respondersd

Have you ever witnessed a treatment by a chiropractor?

304 (50)

305 (50)

  

21

Have you ever witnessed a treatment by an osteopath?

162 (27)

449 (73)

23 (19–28)

< 0.01*

19

Have you ever been a recipient of a treatment by a chiropractor?

164 (27)

445 (73)

  

21

Have you ever been a recipient of a treatment by an osteopath?

101 (17)

508 (83)

10 (7–14)

< 0.01*

21

Have you ever referred a patient to a chiropractor?

239 (40)

365 (60)

  

26

Have you ever referred a patient to an osteopath?

205 (34)

396 (66)

6 (1–10)

0.01*

29

Have you ever had a patient referred to you by a chiropractor?

297 (49)

306 (51)

  

27

Have you ever had a patient referred to you by an osteopath?

180 (30)

424 (70)

19 (15–24)

< 0.01*

26

Do you know any of the chiropractors in the area around your practice?

378 (64)

217 (36)

  

35

Do you know any of the osteopaths in the area around your practice?

178 (30)

410 (70)

34 (29–38)

< 0.01*

42

For which of the following conditions do you believe that treatment can be helpful?

     

 Tension headache (C)

163 (28)

412 (72)

  

55

 Tension headache (O)

164 (28)

418 (72)

0 (−3–4)

0.79

48

 Cervicogenic headache (C)

212 (37)

368 (63)

  

50

 Cervicogenic headache (O)

182 (31)

403 (69)

6 (2–10)

0.01*

45

 Migraine (C)

85 (15)

485 (85)

  

60

 Migraine (O)

89 (16)

478 (84)

1 (−4–2)

0.54

63

 Mechanical low back pain (C)

307 (53)

278 (47)

  

45

 Mechanical low back pain (O)

244 (42)

342 (58)

11 (7–15)

< 0.01*

44

 Facilitating mobility in patients with arthritides (C)

153 (27)

423 (73)

  

54

 Facilitating mobility in patients with arthritides (O)

167 (29)

415 (71)

2 (−6–2)

0.44

48

 Neck and upper back pain due to muscle tension (C)

225 (39)

352 (61)

  

53

 Neck and upper back pain due to muscle tension (O)

217 (38)

360 (62)

1 (−3–7)

0.42

53

Would you co-manage a patient with a chiropractor (if clinically appropriate)?

189 (32)

397 (68)

  

44

Would you co-manage a patient with an osteopath (if clinically appropriate)?

193 (33)

393 (67)

1 (−4–3)

0.70

44

Are you aware that all primary chiropractic education in Australia is university based?

456 (78)

126 (22)

  

48

Are you aware that all primary osteopathic education in Australia is university based?

313 (54)

269 (46)

24 (21–28)

< 0.01*

48

Are you aware that primary chiropractic education in Australia is a 5 year full-time program?

379 (65)

202 (35)

  

49

Are you aware that primary osteopathic education in Australia is a 5 year full-time program?

265 (46)

312 (54)

19 (16–23)

< 0.01*

53

Would you be interested in learning more about primary chiropractic education in Australia?

185 (32)

388 (68)

  

57

Would you be interested in learning more about primary osteopathic education in Australia?

209 (37)

359 (63)

5 (2–7)

< 0.01*

62

  1. CI Confidence interval, O Osteopathic, C Chiropractic
  2. * p < 0.05
  3. a All figures given as n (%) of total responses to that question except for non-responders
  4. b Responses recorded as ‘Maybe’, ‘Don’t remember’ and ‘Don’t know’ have been included under the NO column for statistical analysis
  5. c Difference (%) in YES answers for pairs of questions calculated using McNemar’s test for dependent binary data
  6. d Figures given as number of non-responders
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Chiropractic & Manual Therapies

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