An Analysis of Patients at the London School of Osteopathy Clinic

Matthew Stanford                                                                    Supervisor: Marcus Davis

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to improve our knowledge of patients attending the clinic at the London School of Osteopathy in the following areas.

What are the demographics of patients attending the clinic. This will enable us to see if there are any patterns in the demographics of patients attending the clinic

Why those patients chose to see an osteopath for treatment? So that we can better understand why the patients chose osteopathy and if there are any common reasons amongst osteopathic patients for seeking treatment.

What health problems the patients think osteopathy can treat? This should help us establish if patients are aware of the wide range of conditions osteopathy can treat.

What the patients expected of their treatment. This will help us understand if there are discrepancies between what a patient expects an osteopath to do during a treatment and what the osteopath expects to do during a treatment.

What was the patients ultimate outcome of treatment. . This should help us see if our treatment is matching the ultimate outcome of our patients as failure to achieve this may cause patient dissatisfaction.

The investigation was carried out by handing out a questionnaire to new patients at the London School of Osteopathy clinic. 51 questionnaires were used in the study.

Results The results showed a higher percentage of respondents were female (61%) than male(39%). 79% of our respondents were between the ages of 20-50yrs old. 55% of respondents were currently in employment . 64% of respondents in employment described their occupation as professional ,management, technical or skilled manual / non manual. 36% of respondents described their current or last employment as partly skilled or non skilled. 59% of respondents to the questionnaire did not use any other form of complementary or alternative medicine. 45% of respondents to the questionnaire had informed their doctor that they were attending an osteopathic clinic. Respondents sought osteopathic treatment for pain relief and to know the cause of their pain. Respondents thought osteopathy could treat musculoskeletal problems, headaches, sports injuries and rheumatism. During a treatment the respondents expected the osteopathic practitioner to ask conditions about their presenting complaint and general health. Give postural advice, give exercises and give stretches. Respondents expected pain relief, to resume normal activities, a better knowledge of condition and improved health as an outcome of treatment. They did not expect stress relief to be an outcome of treatment. Respondents who had visited an osteopath before have higher expectations of the range of conditions osteopathy can treat. Patients whose doctor is aware of attendance at an osteopathic clinic have higher expectations of the range of conditions osteopathy can treat. We found no significant difference between the expectations of males and females with regards to the range of conditions osteopathy can treat.