Statistics

2009 Health Manpower Survey

Summary of the Characteristics of Chiropractors Enumerated

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I.  Chiropractors Covered

1.1   The chiropractors covered in the 2009 HMS were chiropractors registered with the Chiropractors Council of Hong Kong under the Chiropractors Registration Ordinance (Chapter 428) as at the survey reference date – 31.8.2009.

1.2   The number of chiropractors covered was 114.

1.3   Of the 114 registered chiropractors covered, 93 had responded to the survey, giving an overall response rate of 81.6%. Among the respondents, 83 were economically active*† (active) in the local chiropractic profession as at 31.8.2009 and ten reported to be economically inactive*‡ (inactive) (Chart A) .

1.4   Of the ten inactive chiropractors, all of them reported practising overseas / in the Mainland (Chart A) .

* In the survey, the criteria used in defining economically active / inactive followed those recommended by the International Labour Organization, which are also being used by the Census and Statistics Department in Hong Kong.

† “Economically active” chiropractors comprised all “employed” and “unemployed” chiropractors. “Employed” chiropractors referred to those chiropractors practising in the chiropractic profession in Hong Kong during the survey period, while “unemployed” chiropractors referred to those chiropractors who (a) were not practising in the local chiropractic profession during the survey period; (b) had been available for work during the seven days before the survey; and (c) had sought work in the chiropractic profession during the 30 days before the survey.

‡ “Economically inactive” chiropractors referred to chiropractors who were not practising in the chiropractic profession in Hong Kong during the survey period, excluding those who had been on leave during the survey period and who were “economically active” but “unemployed”.

Chart A : Activity Status of Chiropractors Covered

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1.5   Of the 80 active chiropractors enumerated who were practising in the local chiropractic profession, 55 (68.8%) were male and 25 (31.3%) were female, giving an overall sex ratio (males per 100 females) of 220. The median age of the 80 active chiropractors enumerated was 40.5 years. The median age of the female chiropractors enumerated was 35.0 years and that for their male counterparts was 43.0 years.

1.6   The responding chiropractors were requested to indicate the characteristics of their main jobs*. Distribution by sector for the main job showed that all the 80 active chiropractors enumerated were working in the private sector. Among them, the largest proportion (61.3%) were in solo practice and the remaining 38.8% were in group practice.

1.7   The median age of the active chiropractors enumerated was 42.0 years for those working in solo practice and 38.0 years for those working in group practice.

1.8   Of the 80 active chiropractors enumerated, 98.8% spent most of their working time on service in chiropractic, followed by 1.3% on administration / management.

1.9   The median number of hours of work (excluding meal breaks) per week of the 80 active chiropractors enumerated was 40.0 hours. Among them, 72 (90.0%) were not required to undertake on-call duty (excluding normal duty) and eight (10.0%) were required to undertake on-call duty, with a median of 8.0 hours of on-call duty (excluding normal duty) per week.

1.10  Regarding the average number of consultations / patients encountered per working day, 43.8% of the active chiropractors enumerated reported to have a range of 11 to 20 consultations / patients, 26.3% reported to have 10 consultations / patients or below per working day and 13.8% reported to have 21 to 30 consultations / patients and 31 consultations / patients or above per working day.

1.11  Of the 80 active chiropractors enumerated, 65.0% held Doctoral Degree and 25.0% held Bachelor’s Degree as their basic qualifications.

1.12  Of the 80 active chiropractors enumerated, 39 (48.8%) received / were receiving additional training and 41 (51.3%) did not receive any additional training. Of the 39 active chiropractors with additional training, 19 (48.7%) held Certificate and six (15.4%) held Doctoral Degree.

1.13  Of the 39 chiropractors who received / were receiving additional training, 16 (41.0%) were trained in one field of additional training. Among them, 43.8 % were trained in acupuncture, 12.5% in chiropractic and musculoskeletal disease management, 6.3% in physiotherapy, neurology, nutrition, orthopaedics and sport injuries.

*  Main jobs referred to the jobs in which the chiropractors had spent most of their working time.

II.  Trend Analysis

2.1   Comparison of findings of the 2009 HMS with those surveys before 2004 should be cautious as the survey methodology and reference date had been changed.

2.2   Since the enactment of the Chiropractors (Registration and Disciplinary Procedure) Rules (Chapter 428B) in September 2001, it is mandatory for a person practising as a chiropractor in Hong Kong to hold a valid practising certificate with effective from February 2003. Between 1996 and 2009, the number of chiropractors increased from 27 to 114 (Chart B) .

Chart B : Number of Chiropractors Covered by Year (1996, 2000, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2009)

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2.3   An increasing trend was observed in the proportion of female chiropractors, as indicated by the decrease of sex ratio (males per 100 females) from 2 300 in 1996 to 220 in 2009 (Table A) .

2.4   The mean age of the active chiropractors enumerated remained stable between 41.6 years to 43.7 years between 1996 and 2009.

2.5   Apart from one active chiropractor did not indicate the sector of work in the 2005 HMS, all the remaining active chiropractors enumerated from 1996 to 2009 were found practising in the private sector (Table A) .

Table A : Selected Characteristics of Active Chiropractors Enumerated (1996, 2000, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2009)

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Characteristics	Year
	1996	2000	2004	2005	2006	2007	2009
A.   Chiropractors Covered *	27	48	71	84	88	94	114
B.   Active Chiropractors Enumerated
Number Enumerated	24	38	42	56	58	52	80
Sex
Male	23	33	33	43	46	43	55
Female	1	5	9	13	12	9	25
Sex Ratio (males per 100 females)	2 300	660	367	331	383	478	220
Mean Age	43.0	42.9	43.7	41.6	42.9	43.6	42.7
Sector of Work †
Private	24	38	42	55	58	52	80
	(100.0%)	(100.0%)	(100.0%)	(98.2%)	(100.0%)	(100.0%)	(100.0%)
Unknown	N.A.	N.A.	N.A.	1	N.A.	N.A.	N.A.
				(1.8%)

Notes :

* Figures of 1996 and 2000 refer to the number of chiropractors reported by the responding institutions as at the 1 st of July of the respective years, whereas the figures of 2004 to 2007 and 2009 refer to the number of chiropractors registered with the Chiropractors Council of Hong Kong as the 31 st of August of the respective years. † In 2004 to 2007 and 2009, the sector refers to the sector of main job. As the number of chiropractors involved was very small, the corresponding statistics should be interpreted with caution. N.A. Not applicable

Department of Health
The Government of the Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region
December 2010