Chiropractic intern attitudes, beliefs, and future practice intentions with regard to health promotion, wellness, and preventive services.

OBJECTIVE: This pilot study explored the attitudes, beliefs, and intentions of a group of chiropractic interns concerning health promotion, wellness, and preventive services before and after a series of brief educational interventions.

METHODS: Interns completed a survey before (n = 37) and after (n = 22) the interventions. The survey included 12 Likert scale questions about attitudes and intentions toward wellness and health promotion models. The interventions consisted of classroom lectures, clinical training, and online information pertaining to health promotion and wellness.

RESULTS: The interns initially favored wellness models, perceived a need for them, and felt partially prepared to administer them, with mean Likert scores 4 or greater on a 1 to 5 scale. Afterward, the average scores were higher and the interns reported some benefit from this short course of training.

CONCLUSION: The initial survey demonstrated that interns had some understanding of wellness, health promotion, and preventive services, and favored utilization of these services. The follow-up survey suggested that a short educational intervention could have a positive impact on these attitudes and future utilization of wellness procedures in their practices.