The U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)
awarded a three-year grant for approximately $1.3 million to
the Palmer Center for Chiropractic Research in September.
The grant is funding a study called “Co-Management of Older
Adults With Low Back Pain by Medical Doctors and Doctors
of Chiropractic.”
Throughout the three-year project, Palmer researchers will be
collaborating with those at the Genesis Quad Cities Family
Medicine Residency Program; the College of Public Health at
the University of Iowa; the University of Iowa Carver College of
Medicine; the University of Iowa Center on Aging; and the
College of Health Professions at Thomas Jefferson University,
Philadelphia, Pa.
An estimated 70 to 85 percent of Americans suffer from back
pain at some point in their lives, and it’s one of the most common
reasons for medical physician visits. Approximately eight
percent of U.S. adults see chiropractors each year, primarily for
back pain. Patients are seeking care from both D.C.s and M.D.s,
but there is little research on this topic.
“Currently, there are few examples and little scientific study
of care coordination between M.D.s and D.C.s for low back
pain, and nothing that specifically targets adults over the age
of 65,” said Christine Goertz, D.C., Ph.D., Palmer’s vice chancellor
for Research and Health Policy and principal investigator
of the study. “Our study will begin to address this critical
gap in the literature.”