Chiropractic Antivaccination Arguments

Factors Associated with Changes in Knowledge and Attitude towards Public Health Concepts among Chiropractic College Students Enrolled in a Community Health Class

“…However, conflicts may develop because although chiropractors have traditionally claimed to be health promotion oriented, 12 they have often been at odds with some standard components of public health practice such as vaccinations. 6,13 At the beginning of this course in community health, a slim majority of chiropractic students reported that they knew about some of the key components of mainstream public health practice in the US, including Healthy People 2010, public health agencies and reportable diseases. Larger majorities stated that they knew about the risks and benefits of vaccines and the relationship between lifestyle factors and health.…”

“…With chiropractic students, attitudes towards vaccinations in particular bear scrutiny because this is the area where chiropractic practitioners traditionally have deviated the farthest from the public health mainstream. 5,6 Hawk et al 16 conducted a survey of chiropractic practitioners, faculty and students, and found that the majority were favorably inclined to provide health education services, especially in the areas of physical activity and nutrition. However, they found that students (80%) and faculty (91%) were much more likely to believe that chiropractors should provide both positive and negative information about vaccinations to their patients than private practitioners (62%).…”

“…24 In the case of chiropractic education, many of the practitioners who influence students are against vaccinations. 6,16 SCU, like most chiropractic colleges, mostly addresses vaccinations formally in a second year community health course and does little to counter the hidden curriculum in the students' later years. Thus, higher year students would be likely to have poorer attitudes towards vaccinations.…”

“…2 Traditional chiropractic philosophy has often conflicted with basic tenets of public health, such as the value of vaccinations. [3][4][5][6] Despite hostility from a segment of chiropractic practitioners, chiropractic educators and organizational leaders have tended to look more favorably upon standard public health concepts. In 1995, the Chiropractic Health Care Section of the American Public Health Association (APHA) was created, and it soon drafted a model course on public health for chiropractic colleges.…”

Chiropractic Care and Public Health: Answering Difficult Questions About Safety, Care Through the Lifespan, and Community Action

“…[67][68][69] Although only a small proportion of DCs may oppose vaccination, 70,71 a substantial proportion hold beliefs that are based on unsubstantiated or false claims (eg, vaccines cause sudden infant death, multiple sclerosis, diabetes 71 ). However, there have been changes in the personal and professional attitudes of DCs toward vaccination.…”