Journal
of Vertebral Subluxation Research — JVSR
entered its fourth year of publication in 1999, continuing to provide
D.C.s with the latest subluxation-based research.
The
original research presented in JVSR during 1999 included:
"Cervical
Angles in Sleep Apnea Patients: A Retrospective Study."
"The
Role of Vertebral Subluxation in Chiropractic."
"A
Longitudinal Assessment of Chiropractic Care Using a Survey of
Self-Rated Health Wellness & Quality of Life: A Preliminary
Study."
"Manual
Muscle Testing combined with Specific Head Positioning, and other
Articular Challenges, as an Assessment of Vertebral Subluxation of the
Upper Cervical Spine: A Descriptive Paper."
"A
Study Regarding Measures of General Health Status in Patients Using the
Bio Energetic Synchronization Technique: A Follow Up Study."
"Hypothesis
Formulation for Scientific Investigation of Vertebral Subluxation."
Health
Watch — Each
month during 1999, this special newsletter presented doctors with a wide
variety of reports of current medical and scientific research taken from
such prominent publications as The Lancet, the Journal of the
American Medical Association, the British Medical Journal,
and many others.
The
reports examined the risks involved in the misuse and overuse of
antibiotics, vaccines, prescription and over-the-counter drugs and other
medical procedures. Health Watch also contained information on the
latest nutritional and lifestyle research as well as reports on global
health issues from sources such as the World Health Organization and
other international health advocates.
II.
Subluxation-based guidelines — The
WCA continued to support and distribute the Council on Chiropractic
Practice’s "Clinical Practice Guideline No. 1: Vertebral
Subluxation in Chiropractic Practice."
In
February 1999, thanks to the efforts of the WCA, the CCP Guideline was
incorporated into the National Guideline Clearinghouse (NGC) and became
available online through the NGC website.
Also
in February, a group of CCP supporters — including WCA President Dr.
Terry A. Rondberg, WCA Vice-President Timothy Feuling, Drs. Patrick
Gentempo, Jay Holder, Christopher Kent, C.J. Mertz, Stuart Warner, and
Theresa Warner — funded the mass mailing of more than 50,000 copies of
the complete CCP document to doctors across the
United States
.
Later
in the year, Dr. Rondberg began discussions with Canadian D.C.s and is
currently developing a plan to distribute the guideline to chiropractors
practicing in that country. In addition, the WCA is developing plans for
a website that will allow the dissemination of the guidelines via the
Internet to doctors throughout the rest of the world.
In
March, Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr., of
New Jersey
, addressed the Speaker of the House of the U.S. House of
Representatives and publicly commended key chiropractic organizations
for their efforts in developing and distributing the CCP Guideline. The
World Chiropractic
Alliance
1999 Report to Members
III.
Research — The
WCA has funded and continues to assess a controlled pilot study to
evaluate the effects of vertebral subluxation correction on the human
immune function and quality-of-life. The research is being conducted at
the
New Zealand
Chiropractic
College
and the results will
have worldwide repercussions, particularly in view of the decreased
effectiveness of the current generation of antibiotics in controlling
infectious diseases.
By
reaching a clearer picture of how the immune system works in the
presence and absence of subluxations, the world health community will be
in a better position to develop a strategy to end the dependence on
artificial immunity stimulants such as antibiotics. In addition, the
study will explore the value of incorporating subluxation correction
into the global fight against infectious diseases.
IV.
NGO activities — In
Dec. 1998, the WCA was accepted as a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO)
with the U.N. Department of Public Information (DPI). It was chosen
because of its strong public information outreach. In coming to its
decision, the Department reviewed many of the publications produced by
the WCA, including The Chiropractic Journal, the Journal of
Vertebral Subluxation Research and Health Watch.
Throughout
1999, the WCA demonstrated its commitment to ensure that health care
consumers throughout the global community have access to lifetime,
wellness-centered chiropractic care.
Of
particular significance, the WCA was given the opportunity to present an
educational session on "The Role of Chiropractic Care in Global
Wellness," during the 1999 "International Conference of
NGOs" in
Seoul
,
Korea
. Making the WCA
presentation was William Ralph Boone, Ph.D., D.C., WCA director of
research & education and acting head of the New Zealand School of
Chiropractic, accompanied by WCA member Graham Dobson, D.C., of
Australia
.
This
was the first time a presentation on chiropractic was offered to the
global health care community via the U.N.’s NGO system. It also gave
WCA representatives a valuable opportunity to meet health care officials
from many countries and to begin establishing lasting relationships with
them.
To
keep WCA members and the rest of the profession apprised of the U.N.’s
accomplishments and the WCA’s own activities as an NGO, Dr. Kent
provided regular full page reports in The Chiropractic Journal,
including detailed information on such topics as:
**
The World Health Organization and opportunities for collaboration
**
How the United Nations works
**
The International Narcotics Control Board
**
The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)
In
addition to completing an orientation program for new NGO
representatives, Dr.
Kent
attended:
1)
A briefing entitled, "Challenges for 1999 and Beyond."
Presenters included: Ms. Sudha Acharya, vice-president of the Conference
of Non-Governmental Organizations in Consultive Relationship with the
U.N.; Mr. Iqbal Haji, of the U.N. Department of Economic and Social
Affairs; and H.E. Samuel Insanally, permanent representative of
Guyana
to the U.N. A spirited
question-and-answer session with Mr. Haji and Ambassador Insanally
followed the presentation.
2)
The "Caring Communities for the 21st Century" conference.
Presenters included H.E. Mr. Qassim Sultan of United Arab Emirates, Dr.
William E. Bertrand of Tulane University, and Professor Jan Wampler of
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
3)
A meeting on "The State of the U.N. in
Washington
,
D.C.
," presented by the U.N. Association of the
United States of
America
(UNA-USA).
4)
A briefing concerning continuing and adult education. Presenters
included: H.E. Mr. Shamim Ahmed, deputy permanent representative of
Bangladesh
to the U.N.; Mr.
Emanuel C. Goued Njayick of the Division of Economic and Social Affairs;
and Dr. David Waugh, secretary-general of the International Federation
of Training and Development Organizations.
5)
A special "International Women’s Day" event. Presenters
included Secretary General of the United Nations Kofi Annan, and First
Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton. Dr.
Kent
met personally with a
WHO official to discuss strategies for chiropractic collaboration.
6)
A briefing with representatives of World Information Transfer, the
American Medical Women’s Association, the International Health
Awareness Network, and the Women’s Federation for World Peace.
7)
A briefing concerning the International Narcotics Control Board.
Speakers included: Ambassador Herbert Okun, vice-president of the U.N.
International Narcotics Control Board; Ambassador Lamuel Stanislaus of
Grenada; Zach Messitte, chief speech writer for the UNDCP; and Rosalind
Harris, former chair of the NGO Committee on Narcotics and Substance
Abuse. Dr.
Kent
participated in a
question-and-answer session following the briefing.
8)
A briefing on population information.
9)
A briefing addressing sustainable development.
10)
A briefing with Richard Butler, executive chairman, U.N. Special
Commission; Jonathan Dean, of the Union of Concerned Scientists; and
Randall Forsberg, of the Institute for Defense and Disarmament Studies.
11)
A presentation concerning the exploration and peaceful uses of outer
space.
V.
International Outreach — The WCA fully realizes the importance of a global chiropractic community,
both for the benefit of the profession and for the health and welfare of
the public. To this end, it encourages its members to consider voluntary
service work in countries outside North America, with special attention
to developing nations which may not have ready access to doctors of
chiropractic.
That
is why the WCA was pleased to spotlight WCA member doctors such as:
Matthew
McCoy, D.C., who continued to serve as a consultant for the Regional
Center for Chiropractic "Spine" in Vladivostok, Russia. Dr.
McCoy’s reports on his service in Russia were published in the WCA’s
newspaper, The Chiropractic Journal — and —
John
C. Belka, D.C., who organized six missions to Honduras after the
devastating Hurricane Mitch, and brought much-needed supplies as well as
chiropractic care to the people there.
VI.
Lobbying efforts — The WCA continued, throughout 1999, to monitor legislative activity in
Washington, D.C., and around the world for any legislation that might
compromise the integrity or weaken the position of subluxation-based
chiropractic.
On
October 19, 1999, WCA representatives met with representatives from the
Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) to continue discussions of
Medicare-related issues.
The
WCA also assisted subluxation-based doctors in several states to fight
the unfair influences of the Mercy Conference Guidelines and to fight
attempts to incorporate drugs into chiropractic practice. In July, the
WCA was instrumental in the efforts of subluxation-based doctors in
Wisconsin to defeat a board proposal that would have forced D.C.s to
perform full-body diagnoses and referral to M.D.s.
VII.
Public Relations — Throughout
the year, the WCA Anti-Discrimination Council carefully monitored the
media, taking action whenever feasible to counteract damaging coverage
or inaccurate reporting. This included speedy responses to negative
depictions of chiropractic by Shape magazine, syndicated newspaper
columnist Peter Gott, M.D., and the ABC television sitcom, "It’s
Like, You Know."
VIII.
Patient Education — The
WCA continued its distribution of its patient education books,
"Chiropractic First," "Chiropractic: Compassion and
Expectation" and "Under the Influence of Modern
Medicine." WCA members have been extremely supportive of these
efforts and have donated books to libraries, schools, and other public
facilities that will ensure a wide readership. During 1999, an estimated
125,000 books were distributed.
As
we approach the new millennium, the World Chiropractic Alliance is
looking forward to another year filled with activities and
accomplishments that demonstrate our strong dedication to achieving a
subluxation-free world.
