ArticleChiropractic & manual therapies2020
The use of internet analytics by a Canadian provincial chiropractic regulator to monitor, evaluate and remediate misleading claims regarding specific health conditions, pregnancy, and COVID-19.
Article in Chiropractic & manual therapies, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 28 citations in OpenAlex.
- COVID-19-related misinformation on social media: a systematic review.Bulletin of the World Health Organization · 2021Pooled it
- Assessment of Studies Evaluating Spinal Manipulative Therapy and Infectious Disease and Immune System Outcomes: A Systematic Review.JAMA network open · 2021Pooled it
- The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: musings, observations and reflections after a half-century in chiropractic education.The Journal of the Canadian Chiropractic Association · 2026Article
- Impacts of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Misinformation in Digital Spaces on Human Rights Protection and Promotion: Scoping Review.JMIR infodemiology · 2025Article
- Complementary, alternative, and integrative medicine-specific COVID-19 misinformation on social media: A scoping review.Integrative medicine research · 2023Article
- A scoping review of digital health interventions for combating COVID-19 misinformation and disinformation.Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association : JAMIA · 2023Article
- A two-year follow-up: Twitter activity regarding misinformation about spinal manipulation, chiropractic care and boosting immunity during the COVID-19 pandemic.Chiropractic & manual therapies · 2023Article
- Article
- A comparative audit of jurisprudence, ethics and business management (JEB) courses taught at 21 accredited chiropractic programs worldwide.The Journal of the Canadian Chiropractic Association · 2022Article
- The impact and public health response of chiropractors to the COVID-19 pandemic: a survey across four continents.Chiropractic & manual therapies · 2022Article
- Informed consent, duty of disclosure and chiropractic: where are we?Chiropractic & manual therapies · 2020Review
- The potential benefits of Chinese integrative medicine for pregnancy women during the COVID-19 pandemic.Integrative medicine research · 2020Article
- Monitoring Information Flow on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).Mediterranean journal of rheumatology · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundInternet analytics are increasingly being integrated into public health regulation. One specific application is to monitor compliance of website and social media activity with respect to jurisdictional regulations. These data may then identify breaches of compliance and inform disciplinary actions. Our study aimed to evaluate the novel use of internet analytics by a Canadian chiropractic regulator to determine their registrants compliance with three regulations related to specific health conditions, pregnancy conditions and most recently, claims of improved immunity during the COVID-19 crisis.
methodsA customized internet search tool (Market Review Tool, MRT) was used by the College of Chiropractors of British Columbia (CCBC), Canada to audit registrants websites and social media activity. The audits extracted words whose use within specific contexts is not permitted under CCBC guidelines. The MRT was first used in October of 2018 to identify words related to specific health conditions. The MRT was again used in December 2019 for words related to pregnancy and most recently in March 2020 for words related to COVID-19. In these three MRT applications, potential cases of word misuse were evaluated by the regulator who then notified the practitioner to comply with existing regulations by a specific date. The MRT was then used on that date to determine compliance. Those found to be non-compliant were referred to the regulator's inquiry committee. We mapped this process and reported the outcomes with permission of the regulator.
resultsIn September 2018, 250 inappropriate mentions of specific health conditions were detected from approximately 1250 registrants with 2 failing to comply. The second scan for pregnancy related terms of approximately1350 practitioners revealed 83 inappropriate mentions. Following notification, all 83 cases were compliant within the specified timeframe. Regarding COVID-19 related words, 97 inappropriate mentions of the word "immune" were detected from 1350 registrants with 7 cases of non-compliance.
conclusionInternet analytics are an effective way for regulators to monitor internet activity to protect the public from misleading statements. The processes described were effective at bringing about rapid practitioner compliance. Given the increasing volume of internet activity by healthcare professionals, internet analytics are an important addition for health care regulators to protect the public they serve.
Indexed as
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.