Can Chiropractic Care Promote Social Justice?

Mary Franz - Dec 14th, 2010

Media outlets have covered healthcare reform in the United States extensively, yet topics such as chiropractic care rarely break the surface. If healthcare reform is meant to distribute social justice more evenly, then does chiropractic care also contribute to social well-being across society?

When it comes to public health, social justice should act to fairly distribute care so the health of the population as a whole is better. As the population improves in basic health, this should benefit the entire country by increasing productivity. Can chiropractic care aid in this mission?

The authors of "Chiropractic and Social Justice: A View From the Perspective of Beauchamp's Principles" used a set of basic ethical rules for medical care developed by Tom Beauchamp and James Childress to suggest actions that chiropractors could take to promote social justice through healthcare.

Their recommendations highlight particular areas of advocacy, including:

1. Controlling Hazards: A chiropractor should address hazards that contribute to neuromuscular and spinal conditions and disabilities, for example, by advocating for safer work environments.
2. Preventing Death and Disability: The authors proposed that chiropractors could help promote safer behaviors, such as helmet use amongst motorcyclists.
3. Participating in Organized Collective Action: Chiropractors should be involved in population-based health promotion, such as recommendations for exercise, healthy eating initiatives, disease prevention.
4. Sharing the Burden of Health Disparity: The idea behind this principle is that even though it may seem unequal to provide care for the poor rather than the wealthy during a crisis, it is still fair because it serves to even the burden. Chiropractic interns could contribute to social justice by providing care for the elderly or poor.

Chiropractic and Social Justice: A View From the Perspective of Beauchamp's Principles
Bart N. Green, Claire Johnson Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics - July 2010. Vol. 33, Issue 6, Pages 407-411.