Chiropractic + Naturopathic Doctor • December 2016 • What’s New?

The Canadian Chiropractic Guideline Initiative (CCGI) understands that clinicians need easy and rapid access to information, tools and resources to become evidenced-informed practitioners. We provide clinicians with evidence at their fingertips, giving them user-friendly tools to find out how to best translate research evidence into practice, and thereby ensuring patients receive optimal care.

We are delighted that a new CCGI guideline on the treatment of neck-pain-associated disorders (NAD) and whiplash-associated disorders (WAD) has now been published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics (JMPT).

A new series of knowledge translation strategies (including a new interactive online learning module, a webinar, a video series designed for patients on implementing recommendations on neck exercise, handouts for clinicians and patients, and an audio presentation) are available to help disseminate key guideline recommendations to the profession beginning in November 2016. Continuing education credit hours may be available in your province. Look out for the release of the accompanying resources for clinicians and patients.

A new review of clinical practice guidelines on low back pain was published recently by the Ontario Protocol for Traffic Injury Management (OPTIMa) Collaboration, and new guidelines by the Danish government are also expected in the next few months.The CCGI will be looking closely at these to assess if they can be adapted and adopted for chiropractors’ use in Canada.

In 2016, CCGI published an important review of the literature on evidence- based practice, research utilization, and knowledge translation in chiropractic, providing baseline information on what has been achieved in these three areas in chiropractic worldwide and on what remains to be accomplished.

This scoping review suggests that the majority of chiropractors hold favourable attitudes and beliefs toward evidence-informed practice (EIP). However, the research also found that much remains to be done for chiropractors to routinely apply evidence into clinical practice.

Educational strategies aimed at practicing chiropractors can lead to more EIP and improved patient care. A Prezi outlining the methods and results of the scoping review is available on the Research Network page of the CCGI website.

The CCGI conducted a pilot implementation study among Canadian chiropractors on the management of patients with neck pain. Two articles are in preparation.

We also recently undertook a new study on implementing a self-management program called Brief Action Planning for back and neck pain patients at Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College. The CCGI is excited to participate in the development of this collaboration with chiropractic students and faculty members.

CCGI opinion leaders have been hard at work making presentations to provincial associations and their members. In September, Dr. Katherine Mac- Adam gave a presentation about CCGI at the Annual Maritime Chiropractic Convention in Nova Scotia. Dr. Greg Stewart made a presentation at the Alberta College and Association of Chiropractors’ AGM in Alberta. Dr. Jeff Quon and I presented at the British Columbia Chiropractic Association Convention in B.C in November.

There are now more than 110 CCGI best practice collaborators appointed in all provinces, assisting opinion leaders in promoting best practices to their colleagues.

A new online competency program for best practice collaborators, with up to 24 continuing education hours, is currently being prepared for launch in early 2017.

Looking for an opinion leader or best practices collaborator in your area? Find them on the Meet the Team page of the CCGI website.

The best place to start finding out about CCGI resources is to visit our website. With more than 1,000 visits per week, www.chiroguidelines.org is updated regularly with news and resources for clinicians and patients. We now have a new, easy-to-find tab on the homepage for Guidelines, providing all the latest guidelines and recommendations on headache, neck, back and extremities within the scope of chiropractic practice, along with tools to help in clinical decision-making.

Find out how to access CCGI webinars and e-learning modules, as well as learn about how to search for the best available evidence. Links for clinicians to topics such as physical activity, self-management and ergonomics, and links to databases for chiropractic literature are provided.

All CCGI webinars and modules are available through CMCC website’s Continuing Education page (www.cmcc.ca/ce).

Ask your local regulatory board about continuing education credit hours for CCGI learning modules and webinars. They are all free of charge.

Keep up-to-date with the latest news on the CCGI’s homepage. The website also provides resources for patients, such as online information and links to websites on staying healthy, taking regular exercises, and the importance of self-management. You can use the website with your patients to help them find resources, such as Dr. Mike Evans’ videos on the importance of doing exercises. You will also find the CCGI video series, recorded with our opinion leaders in 2015 and now available in French.

In August 2016, I recorded a podcast on chiropractic research utilization and the implementation of best practices with Dr. Dean Smith from Chiropractic Science. This online podcast, along with others in the series, can be found on the CCGI website and provides an excellent introduction to the work of CCGI.

A new round of CCGI funding for Practice-Based Research Networks has just been announced, along with two new CCGI awards for chiropractic students at CMCC and UQTR, on the topic of evidence-informed practice.

At CCGI we believe in working as a team. If you are interested in finding out more about this important project, get in touch with our CCGI team: Dr. André Bussières, project lead ([email protected]); Dr. Darquise Lafrenière, CCGI knowledge broker ([email protected]); and Heather Owens, CCGI research manager ([email protected]). We will be happy to consider your suggestions and answer any questions you may have.

Follow CCGI on LinkedIn and Twitter to keep up-to-date with all the latest news from CCGI. More and more practitioners are joining the conversation and staying up-to-date with all the latest news from CCGI and our collaborators.

More articles about the Canadian Chiropractic Guideline Initiative can be found online at www.canadianchiropractor.ca.

DR. ANDRÉ BUSSIÈRES, DC, is project lead for the Canadian Chiropractic Guideline Initiative. He is an assistant professor at the School of Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy at McGill University and a professor at Université de Québec à Trois Rivières. He holds a Canadian Chiropractic Research Foundation Professorship in Rehabilitation Epidemiology at McGill University