Research Strategy

The Chiropractic Knowledge Hub is proud to present ‘Connecting with the patient’, the 4th edition of our Research Strategy, which applies to the period 2018 – 2022. The new Research Strategy will strengthen the Chiropractic Knowledge Hub’s position as an international centre for research, quality assurance and communication of knowledge within the chiropractic profession. It builds upon and expands the fields in which NIKKB has provided high quality research for many years. For the first time, it has been digitalised and completed as a dynamic strategy intended to be updated yearly.

Research at the Chiropractic Knowledge Hub is more vibrant than ever and our research will continue to contribute new knowledge in the musculoskeletal field by focusing on solving specific challenges at the level of both the patient and society. Patients with musculoskeletal problems experience different clinical courses, which is why we will continue our work to establish ‘customised’ interventions based on new knowledge.

To optimise evidence-based chiropractic practice for the Danish health care system, we need more knowledge about typical chiropractic practice and about patients with musculoskeletal conditions. But we also need to understand the conditions necessary to maximise uptake of new concepts and methods by practising chiropractors. Consequently, this strategy increases our emphasis on practice-based research through the Chiropractic Knowledge Hub’s network of chiropractic research clinics.

Our ambition is to focus on implementation research where new knowledge about the barriers to, and methods for, promoting the systematic application of research findings is further developed and embedded in daily clinical practice. At the Chiropractic Knowledge Hub, our research has always sought to understand the life trajectories of musculoskeletal disease. This will still apply. We will continue to study these clinical courses in order to develop insights that are useful and practical in prevention and treatment. Details of these three research focus areas are provided in the research strategy.

We will maintain and strengthen our existing research collaborations as well as establish new ones, both inside and outside Denmark. The location of the new European research centre ECCRE (European Chiropractic Centre for Research Excellence) at the Chiropractic Knowledge Hub in 2016 has opened up exciting possibilities to extend and collaborate across borders within our profession.
With ‘Connecting with the patient’, we commit to continuing the strong tradition of conducting clinically relevant research at the Chiropractic Knowledge Hub in collaboration with our partners, with the aim of advancing the chiropractic profession, and ultimately improving the health and well-being of people with musculoskeletal diseases.

Since the establishment of the Chiropractic Knowledge Hub in 1991, our researchers have published more than 300 peer-reviewed articles, book chapters and reports and the institute has a sound and healthy infrastructure. The Chiropractic Knowledge Hub is well integrated into the physical surroundings at the Institute of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics and this co-location has facilitated cross-disciplinary cooperation with the musculoskeletal research teams at the University of Southern Denmark, while maintaining the Chiropractic Knowledge Hub’s independence.

The backing from the Danish Chiropractors’ Association and the Danish Regions has provided the requisite stability and continuity for NIKKB to fulfil its role. We are very grateful for their ongoing support.

You can download ‘Connecting with the patient’ as a free PDF HERE.

Henrik Wulff Christensen
Managing Director and Head of Research
The Chiropractic Knowledge Hub