Employment characteristics of individuals who received osteopathic care: a retrospective cross-sectional observational study

Objective

The profile and clinical presentation of people consulting osteopaths in Belgium has been studied and reported before. Information on employment aspects of such individuals is lacking. The aim was to contribute to filling this gap.

Methods

The study had a retrospective cross-sectional observational design. The study population included employed Dutch-speaking members, aged 18–65, of a large Health Insurance Fund in Belgium who had visited an osteopath at least once in the period January 1, 2019 and December 31, 2019. Data collection occurred through a digital self-reported instrument to be filled out once. Participation in the study was entirely voluntary. Descriptive, between-group and a multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed.

Results

The study population included 955 individuals with 70 % being female. Thirty-one per cent reported work absence (mean: 37.5 ± 62.5 days) in a 12 months’ time period due to the complaint for which they consulted an osteopath. The main reason for work absence included non-specific low back pain (21.9 %). Respondents indicating the osteopath as the first care professional they consulted had significantly fewer work absence days compared to those who first consulted another health care professional (27.9 ± 52.2 vs. 41.5 ± 66.1 days, p < .01).

Conclusion

This is the first study examining employment-related characteristics of individuals seeking osteopathic care. The findings must be cautiously interpreted, but they give a first impression of what the effect of osteopathic care on employment may be. This impact needs to be further examined applying study designs that allow conclusions about the causal or non-causal relationship between osteopathic care and employment outcomes.