The Australian Chiropractors Association (ACA) is the primary voice for chiropractors in Australia. With over 3,000 members, it provides a strong, unified voice for all chiropractors. The Association’s purpose is to lead the profession by supporting members in the provision of excellence in person-centred chiropractic healthcare.
As the largest continuous funder of chiropractic research in Australia, the ACA is committed to supporting research. Current projects include PhD scholarships, the CARL Fellowship program and BACE-Australia. Past programs included the ACORN Practice-based network and Masters of Research scholarships.
As part of this ongoing commitment to research, the ACA established the Australian Chiropractors Education and Research Foundation (ACERF), a registered charity and public ancillary fund regulated by the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission.
The aims of ACERF are to fund research, encourage cross-disciplinary collaboration, and foster partnerships between researchers and clinicians.
The call for Expressions of Interest under the initial 2024 ACERF Research Grant Scheme opened in June 2023 with full applications due in September of the same year. The call was for small grants of up to $20,000 over a two-year period. The focus of the 2024 scheme was to increase knowledge relevant to chiropractic and/or have an impact on the practice of chiropractic.
The call produced applications across a range of topics from a variety of researchers and institutions. Four applications were successful in being awarded funding.
ACA are delighted to announce the recipients of the 2024 ACERF grant round are:
Project title: A feasibility study for integrating physical and psychological care for persistent low back pain in primary care.
- Investigators: Dr David McNaughton (School of Psychological Sciences and Department of Chiropractic, Macquarie University), Professor Simon French (Department of Chiropractic, Macquarie University), Professor Mark Hancock (Department of Health Professions, Macquarie University), Professor Blake Dear (School of Psychological Sciences, Macquarie University), Dr Alana Fisher (School of Psychological Sciences, Macquarie University) and Professor Michael Jones (Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences, Macquarie University).
- Grant: $19,997
Project title: Vestibular rehabilitation and manual therapy intervention in the management of mild traumatic brain injury: a pilot randomised controlled trial.
- Investigators: Dr Carlo Rinaudo (Director, The Brain Hub), Dr Roger Engel (Department of Chiropractic, Macquarie University) and Dr Reidar Lystad (Australian Institute of Health Innovation, Macquarie University).
- Grant: $19,998
Project title: Cross-cultural adaptation, validation, and responsiveness of the English version of the Young Spine Questionnaire (YSQ) and Young Disability Questionnaire – Spine (YDQ-S) in adolescents aged 13-18 years.
- Investigators: Associate Professor Michael Swain (Department of Chiropractic, Macquarie University), Professor Lise Hestbæk (University of Southern Denmark), Associate Professor Henrik Lauridsen (University of Southern Denmark), Dr Benjamin Brown (Department of Chiropractic, Macquarie University), Ms Nichole Phillips (Department of Chiropractic, Macquarie University), Dr Amy Miller (AECC University College), Professor Katie Pohlman (Parker University), Ms Isabelle Bogard (University of Sydney, Nepean Blue Mountains Local Health District), Dr Tiê Parma Yamato (University of Sydney, Nepean Blue Mountains Local Health District) and Professor Steve Kamper (University of Sydney, Nepean Blue Mountains Local Health District).
- Grant: $19,833
Project title: Measurement of HVLA-SMT in the management of upper quadrant musculoskeletal pain in young adults: a feasibility study.
- Investigators: Dr Aron Downie (Department of Chiropractic, Macquarie University), Associate Professor Michael Swain (Department of Chiropractic, Macquarie University), Dr Benjamin Brown (Department of Chiropractic, Macquarie University), Dr Martha Funabashi (Canadian Memorial College of Chiropractic), Mr David Starmer (Canadian Memorial College of Chiropractic) and Mr Luke Ross (Department of Chiropractic, Macquarie University).
- Grant: $17,733
The February 2024 issue of The Australian Chiropractor magazine has further details on each of the four research projects.
ACA would like to congratulate all four recipients and look forward to seeing these projects come to fruition over the next two years.
As part of the ACA’s ongoing commitment to fund research through the Foundation, planning has already started on the next Round. Dates for this round will be announced in the next few months.