Making a case for genomics in chiropractic education.

OBJECTIVE: To determine if an existing course in genetics should be revised to refocus on the topic of genomics and its impact on health and primary care, a survey of chiropractors was conducted regarding genomics and patient care.

METHODS: A short survey was designed to ascertain chiropractors' knowledge and use of genomics in their practices, particularly regarding direct to consumer genetic testing. Nine closed-ended questions and 2 open-ended questions were included. Pearson correlation was used to evaluate relationships between close-ended responses. Content analysis was conducted on the final open-ended question that queried respondents for further comments.

RESULTS: There were 181 completed surveys returned. Patients do ask chiropractors about their own direct to consumer genetic testing results-42% indicated that they are approached by patients 1-3 times per month to discuss genetics/genomics. Knowledge of genomics varies among chiropractors, yet 51% feel that teaching genomics is moderately (31%) or extremely (20%) important.

CONCLUSION: An introductory course in clinical genomics is necessary to prepare a chiropractor for patient care.