Andrea Albertson Publishes Letter to the Editor and Retrospective Study

Andrea Albertson, DC, Research and Policy Associate at NWHSU, continues to make important contributions to chiropractic research.

Lead Author of Important Letter to the Editor

Dr. Albertson published a letter to the editor in Neurological Sciences, a peer-reviewed journal. As lead author, she wrote “Missing information and selective reporting confounds the literature on the association between spinal manipulation and vertebral artery dissection ” “in response to a case report that was published, which was biased with missing and confounding information.” She was approached by Clinical Compass to lead a team of clinician-scientists to respond.

“It is important to me, and ultimately to the profession, to preserve scientific integrity, promote evidence-based practice, and encourage accountability and academic dialogue,” she shared. “In the future, I hope this extends the bandwidth of the profession to respond to research that doesn’t hold up to ethical or methodological standards.” Dr. Albertson hopes this work with a unique team will foster future opportunities for collaboration.

Closing Gaps in the Literature with Research on a Historically Overlooked Population

Dr. Albertson also published “Utilization of Chiropractic Services among Older Adults with Spine Pain at a Publicly Funded Canadian Healthcare Facility: A Retrospective Study” as lead author. Michele Maiers, DC, MPH, PhD is also an author on the study, along with Ganesh Tailor and Steven Passmore, DC, PHD of University of Manitoba. 

“I am passionate about increasing patient access to chiropractic care, especially for medically underserved and vulnerable populations. It is important to me that research and chiropractic education include populations that are historically overlooked,” shared Dr. Albertson. “Although there is a growing body of research regarding older adults and chiropractic care, there are still many gaps in the literature, especially regarding older adults from marginalized and vulnerable populations. This paper describes the patient characteristics, clinical management, and patient-reported outcomes of older adults from marginalized communities who present for chiropractic care at a Community Health Centre in Canada.”

She hopes the study, a collaboration between NWHSU and University of Manitoba, leads to more partnerships with Community Health Centers in the U.S. and Canada.