Health promotion is a strategy to improve the overall wellness of the community in which you live. Health promotion is defined as the science and art of helping people change their lifestyle to move toward a state of optimal health (American Journal of Health Promotion, 1989).
How can you, as a practicing chiropractor, do health promotion? Interacting in the community and delivering health information can be done in many venues. Many groups are looking for speakers - especially free ones! Lions clubs, Rotary clubs, schools, etc., often are looking for speakers in their schedules. You can hold talks in your office open to the community and current patients. You can be that health expert, delivering this valuable information.
What will you talk about? One worldwide health promotion currently going on is called "Straighten Up America." This is posture and spinal health promotion right up your chiropractic alley, and was recently endorsed by the World Federation of Chiropractic (WFC)! I recently took this health promotion tool to middle-school health teachers and presented posture improvement to 6th grade students. Talks usually should be tailored quite specifically to the group you are addressing. If you are talking to a senior citizen group, you might want to talk about arthritis and/or osteoporosis, for example. Diabetes, heart-disease prevention, exercise, lupus, scoliosis and back injury prevention are just a few of the many talks you can do to educate, recruit patients and promote health.
What if you are not a good speaker? Of course, it's an understatement to say that not everyone is a good or a great speaker. In fact, many people would rather get a tooth pulled than perform public speaking! One way to improve public speaking skills is by joining Toastmasters International. Toastmasters International is a worldwide organization that teaches people how to improve their public speaking skills. It is a safe venue at which to try out your speeches before presenting them to the public. To increase your credibility, your talks should be evidence-based, with information only from credible organizations and reviewed publications.
How can you improve your knowledge of public health for giving speeches? First, you can join the American Public Health Association (APHA). Chiropractors are an active part of this association and our chiropractic health care section always is looking for new members. The application can be filed online and you will receive The Nation's Health monthly newspaper, with information on the annual conference. Reading and attending the APHA annual meeting are both ways that allow you to learn of the latest developments in the field. You also can earn a master's degree in public health (MPH), further increasing your knowledge base and your credibility in mainstream health care.
Joining the APHA, attending its annual meetings and obtaining my own MPH degree have all increased my credibility and knowledge in overall wellness. Because of those experiences, I can now take an active part in health promotion with the American Heart Association, the American Diabetes Association and the American Cancer Society. These are high-profile groups with many related organizations, and recently, they have opened many doors for health promotion to which many chiropractors had not previously been privy.
Partnering with the American Heart Association has allowed chiropractic doctors to participate in multidisciplinary "Heart Fairs" at local hospitals and cardiology offices, to name a few venues. Collaboration with the American Diabetes Association allowed a group of us to be chiropractors for our local "Tour De Cure" event. Through the American Cancer Society, we are involved in "Relay for Life," another national event that in our area alone exposes our clinic to 30,000 people!
The more health promotion you do as a chiropractor, the more potential new patients you can contact. Health promotion is one way to increase your community involvement while at the same time enlarging your own patient base. People become educated on chiropractic and improve their public health. This truly is a "win-win" scenario in my opinion and I encourage other DCs to participate in health promotion activities to their benefit and that of their community.