Data Cart

The 2002 Field Representativ's Manual says that chiropractic care involves:

This definition was not routinely shared with respondents.

The 2007 Field Representative's Manual provides a similar definition:

The 2007 manual defines osteopathic manipulation as:

In 2007 field representatives were advised to "feel free to offer [these definitions] even if the respondent has not requested [them]."

The 2002 and 2007 survey questions asked whether the person had seen "a practitioner" (for sample adults) or "a provider or practitioner" (for sample children) for "chiropractic care" (2002) or for "chiropractic or osteopathic manipulation" (2007) in the past 12 months. The 2007 Manual defines an "alternative provider or practitioner" as:

Respondents who indicated that they had ever used chiropractic or osteopathic manipulation (COMEV) (in the case of sample adults) and that they had used it in the last 12 months (COMYR) (both sample adults and sample children) were asked follow-up questions about their use of chiropractic or osteopathic manipulation. Most of the following variables relate only to sample adults, except for COMTREAT and some variables covering specific health conditions.

• importance of use of chiropractor (COMIMPORT)

• times saw practitioner for chiropractic manipulation (COMNO)

• amount paid per visit for chiropractic manipulation (COMPAID)

• whether chiropractor costs covered by insurance (COMINSURE)

• whether used chiropractor for specific health problem (COMTREAT)

• whether needed medical attention for chiropractor side effects (COMSIDEMED)

• reasons for using chiropractor (COMUSCOMBO, COMUSENERGY, COMUSHCREC, COMUSIMMUN, COMUSINTER, COMUSMEDCOST, COMUSMEDFAIL, COMUSRELREC, COMUSWELL)

• whether combined chiropractor with conventional treatments (COMNOCONV, COMCOUN, COMNPMED, COMPMED, COMPT, COMSURG)

• timing of acupuncture use, relative to use of conventional treatments (COMCOUNTIM, COMNPMEDTIM, COMPMEDTIM, COMPTTIM, COMSURGTIM

• whether informed conventional medical practitioners of use of chiropractor (COMLCONVHP, COMLDENT, COMLDO, COMLMD, COMLNURS, COMLPHARM, COMLPSYCHI, COMLPSYCHO)

Persons who indicated in COMTREAT that they had used chiropractic or osteopathic manipulation in the past 12 months to treat a specific health problem were asked to specify the condition treated. There are 131 total variables for specific conditions that were treated by chiropractic or osteopathic manipulation, including 72 for sample adults, 28 for sample children, and 31 for both sample adults and sample children. See COMTREAT for more detail and the full list of conditions that persons could indicate were treated with chiropractic or osteopathic manipulation. Analysts interested in the conditions that chiropractic or osteopathic manipulation was used to treat may also wish to consult the following variables:

• condition for which chiropractor was used most (COMTCONMOST)

• first condition for which chiropractor was used (COMCON1)

• degree of help from chiropractor, 1st condition (COMCON1HELP)

• second condition for which chiropractor was used (COMCON2)

• degree of help from chiropractor, 2nd condition (COMCON2HELP)

• third condition for which chiropractor was used (COMCON3)

• degree of help from chiropractor, 3rd condition (COMCON3HELP)

• condition count for chiropractor (COMCONNO)

Respondents who had ever used chiropractic or osteopathic manipulation but had not used it in the past 12 months were asked to provide a reason why they had not used it. The reasons included:

• too expensive COMNOCOST

• health care worker said not toCOMNOHC

• not needed COMNONEED

• not proven to work COMNOPROOF

• side effects COMNOSIDE

• did not think of it COMNOTHINK

• did not work before COMNOWORK

• no reason COMNOREAS

• some other reason COMNOOTH

Persons who had never used chiropractic or osteopathic manipulation (i.e., with a negative response in COMYR and/or COMEV) were asked why they had never used the treatment. The reasons included:

• too expensive COMNEVCOST

• health care worker said not to COMNEVHC

• didn't know about it COMNEVKNOW

• not needed COMNEVNEED

• not proven to work COMNEVPROOF

• not safe COMNEVSAFE

• did not think of it COMNEVTHINK

• doesn't work COMNEVWORK

• no reason COMNEVREAS

• some other reason COMNEVOTH