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Given the complexity of these relationships, how can we best improve the nation’s health? What factors are most important to address? What solutions would make the biggest difference in the widest range of people? Toolkit Ch. 13. Chiropractic Folk DevilsChiropractors are health care professionals who are musculoskeletal experts who assess and treat disorders of the muscular, skeletal, and nervous systems (Canadian Chiropractic Association, 2017). On September 12, 1996, an Ontario woman named Lana Dale Lewis died of a stroke at the age of 45. Her family and various moral entrepreneurs were convinced that the cause originated in a chiropractic manipulation she had received for migraines. The ensuing moral panic surrounding the use of chiropractic services lasted from 1996 to 2005 and was fuelled by media coverage, which occurred daily throughout the 22-month investigation into her death (Villanueva-Russell, 2009). The inquest into Lewis’s death by a coroner’s jury eventually rendered a verdict of “death by means of an accident” (Laeeque & Boon, 2004). Nonetheless, the media were successful in creating a moral panic, and anti-chiropractic messages began appearing in magazines and on websites (e.g., Chirowatch.com). The end result was a widespread but largely unfounded fear relative to statistical realities that damaged the reputation of the chiropractic profession (Villanueva-Russell, 2009). Moral panic over chiropractors led to reforms in Canadian health insurance systems. After 30 years of coverage, in 2004, Ontario “delisted” chiropractic services from its health insurance plan; the other provinces followed suit. This meant that people who utilized chiropractic services now had to pay for the treatment themselves (Deloitte, 2004). Chiropractic services are still delisted in most provinces; however, health plans provided by employers and private health care providers typically cover at least some of the costs associated with chiropractic use in Canada today (Healthquotes.ca, 2015).ThinkOutside the Box:Can you think of an example of a fad or event that was highly sensationalized in the media at some point in history as a threat to moral
