Malmqvist Stefan, Leboeuf-Yde Charlotte
Ruoholahden Kiropraktikkokeskus (Private practice), Itämerenkatu 12, 00180 Helsinki, Finland.
Chiropr Osteopat. 2008 Aug 27;16:9. doi: 10.1186/1746-1340-16-9.
The Finnish chiropractic profession is young and not fully accepted by Finnish healthcare authorities. The demographic profile and style of practice has not been described to date. However, as the profession seems to be under rapid development, it would be of interest to stakeholders, both chiropractic and political, to obtain a baseline description of this profession with a view to the development of future goals and strategies for the profession. The purpose of this study was to describe the chiropractic profession in Finland in relation to its demographic background, the demographics of their clinics, practice patterns, interactions with other health care practitioners and some of the professions' plans for the future.
A structured questionnaire survey was conducted in 2005, in which all 50 members of the Finnish Chiropractic Union were invited to participate.
In all, 44 questionnaires were returned (response rate 88%). Eighty percent of the respondents were men, and 77% were aged 30 to 44 years old, most of whom graduated after 1990 with either a university-based bachelors' or masters' degree in chiropractic. Solo practice was their main practice pattern. The vast majority described their scope of practice to be based on a musculoskeletal approach, using the Diversified Technique, performing Soft Tissue Therapy and about two-thirds also used an Activator Instrument (mechanical adjusting instrument). The mean number of patient visits reported to have been seen weekly was 59 of which nine were new patients. Most practitioners found this number of patients satisfactory. At the initial consultation, 80% of respondents spent 30-45 minutes with their patients, 75% spent 20-30 minutes with "new old" patients and on subsequent visits 80% of respondents spent 15-30 minutes. Interactions with other health care professions were reasonably good and most of chiropractors intended to remain within the profession.
The Finnish chiropractic profession is relatively young. Consequently, many of the practitioners have a university-degree, which reflects recent developments in undergraduate chiropractic education. Their practice profile and the manner in which they practice appear to be fairly traditional.
芬兰的脊椎按摩疗法行业尚年轻，尚未被芬兰医疗当局完全接受。迄今为止，该行业的人口统计学特征和执业方式尚未得到描述。然而，鉴于该行业似乎正在迅速发展，脊椎按摩疗法从业者和政界的利益相关者都有兴趣获得该行业的基线描述，以便为该行业制定未来目标和战略。本研究的目的是描述芬兰脊椎按摩疗法行业的人口统计学背景、诊所的人口统计学特征、执业模式、与其他医疗从业者的互动以及该行业的一些未来计划。
2005年进行了一项结构化问卷调查，邀请了芬兰脊椎按摩疗法联盟的所有50名成员参与。
共收回44份问卷（回复率88%）。80%的受访者为男性，77%的受访者年龄在30至44岁之间，其中大多数人于1990年后毕业，拥有基于大学的脊椎按摩疗法学士或硕士学位。个体执业是他们的主要执业模式。绝大多数人将其执业范围描述为基于肌肉骨骼方法，采用多元化技术，进行软组织治疗，约三分之二的人还使用激活器器械（机械调整器械）。报告的每周平均就诊患者数量为59人，其中9人为新患者。大多数从业者认为这个患者数量令人满意。在初次咨询时，80%的受访者与患者共度30至45分钟，75%的受访者与“新旧”患者共度长达20至30分钟，在后续就诊时，80%的受访者花费15至30分钟。与其他医疗行业的互动相当良好，大多数脊椎按摩疗法从业者打算留在该行业。
芬兰的脊椎按摩疗法行业相对年轻。因此，许多从业者拥有大学学位，这反映了脊椎按摩疗法本科教育的最新发展。他们的执业概况和执业方式似乎相当传统。
