Perception of chiropractic students in their preparedness in the diagnoses and management of headache disorders at a selected University of Technology

Abstract

A headache is defined as “pain found in the head above the orbito-meatal line and or nuchal ridge” and widely affects both males and females globally. Chiropractic treatment and the management of headaches is substantial, with one in five new patients’ chief complaint being a headache and, thus, the use of chiropractic care in the management and treatment of headaches is popular. The term “self-perceived preparedness” refers to how people view themselves in terms of confidence and competency with regard to certain skills. Self-perceived preparedness is essential as it relates to one’s confidence and the ability to accurately diagnose and manage headache disorders. There is a definite scarcity in South African literature as to the self-perceived preparedness of students in the diagnosis and management of headache disorders. In a South African chiropractic context, the literature, with regard to students’ confidence, awareness and self-assessment of skills is lacking. There are a number of advantages that can come from exploring the concept of self-perceived preparedness. The benefits include, but are not limited to, the assessment of whether or not the curricula goals have been achieved, the readiness of chiropractic students to confidently and correctly diagnose and manage patients sufficiently, and the different aspects that can lead to one feeling unprepared. Aim The aim of this study was to explore and describe the self-perceived preparedness of the chiropractic students’ in the diagnosis and management of headache disorders. Methodology This study design employed a qualitative, explorative and descriptive design. Purposeful sampling was utilised and individual, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 Master’s degree students in the chiropractic programme. These interviews took place “in person” and an interview guide was utilised in each interview. The interviews were conducted over a week from the 18th to the 23rd of September 2023. The questions surrounded the topics of self-perceived preparedness, confidence, challenges (whether educational or personal) and the effect of clinical exposure on one’s confidence and skills. The interviews were analysed and themes were extracted utilising Tesch’s eight-step approach of data analysis. Results The chief themes that emerged from the data collection included the level of preparedness, educational and environmental challenges, as well as the positive role that clinical exposure had on students’ views of their self-perceived preparedness. The participants felt largely unprepared to deal clinically with headache disorders. This stemmed from the feeling of isolation within academia, lack of support from staff and clinicians, lack of practical aspects within the curriculum and the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in a lack of in-person interaction. Conclusion The findings of this study highlighted the lack of confidence and feeling of under-preparedness to deal with headache disorders within a clinic setting by chiropractic Master’s students. This was mainly attributed to educational and environmental challenges. However, the exposure students gained within a clinical environment greatly improved their feeling of overall self-perceived preparedness