J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 1989 Jun; 12(3): 167-73.

The Connecticut survey of public attitudes toward chiropractic.

Wardwell WI.

Department of Sociology, University of Connecticut, Storrs 06268.

This paper reports the results of a public opinion survey of attitudes toward chiropractic, commissioned by the Connecticut Chiropractic Association and carried out by the Institute for Social Inquiry at the University of Connecticut. Telephone interviews with 500 randomly selected households elicited responses from a representative sample of Connecticut residents. While 28% of the respondents stated they were not at all familiar with chiropractic, 21% (that is, 104 of the 500) had visited a chiropractor at least once. A total of 40% of the respondents or a member of their family had gone to a chiropractor. Of the respondents who went, 78% rated their treatment as effective, 89% were satisfied with the amount of personal attention they received, 72% were satisfied with the cost of their treatment, and 72% said they would go again for the same or similar problem. When those who are familiar with chiropractic were asked their overall opinion of it, 78% of those who expressed a definite opinion were favorable; however, only 61% of this group thought "most people in Connecticut" have a favorable opinion of chiropractic. When those familiar with chiropractors but who had never been to one were asked if they would go to one for a problem chiropractors treat, 59% said they would go and 68% of those who were familiar said they would encourage a friend to go. Respondents' factual information and attitudes about what chiropractors do were probed in depth.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)