GLOBAL PATIENT SAFETY TASK FORCE
Mission
To globally support a patient safety culture within the chiropractic profession.
Objectives
a. Build and sustain a reliable health profession that promotes respect, openness and transparency in relation to safety issues;
b. Ensure information and knowledge are gathered to assess and mitigate risk;
c. Develop synergy, partnerships and solidarity to improve patient safety as it relates to the delivery of quality of chiropractic care;
d. Monitor and report on the effectiveness of these objectives.
Responsibilities
The WFC GPS Task Force will be responsible for:
a. Creating patient safety platforms to share international experiences, best practices, tools, ideas and approaches to improve patient safety;
b. Reviewing and analyzing incident reports and other data related to patient safety within the chiropractic profession;
c. Developing and recommending the implementation of strategies to mitigate patient safety issues;
d. Monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of patient safety strategies;
e. Developing and delivering education and training programs related to patient safety; and
f. Providing regular progress reports to the WFC Research Committee (RC) and WFC Board of Directors.
Chair
Dr Katie POHLMAN DC, MS, PhD (USA)
Katherine A Pohlman is the Director of Research at Parker University. She completed her chiropractic education and a Master’s of Science in Clinical Research at Palmer College of Chiropractic in 2006 & 2010, respectively, and was awarded her PhD in 2019 from the University of Alberta in Canada. She is an expert in patient safety and the study of the effectiveness of chiropractic care in special populations including children, adolescences, pregnant/post-partum individuals, and overall women’s health. She received Researcher of the Year in 2020 from the American Chiropractic Association (ACA), was the 2023 World Congress of Women Chiropractors’ Leadership awardee, and received the NCMIC Foundation McAndrew Award in 2024. For a complete overview of education, employment and publications see the following link Orchid ID 0000-0002-1536-112X.
Vice-Chair
Professor Sidney RUBINSTEIN DC PhD (Netherlands)
Sidney Rubinstein is an endowed professor at the Vrije Universiteit (VU), Amsterdam, the Netherlands. He completed his chiropractic education at the Los Angeles College of Chiropractic in 1992, and was awarded his PhD in 2008 from the VU, Amsterdam. His area of expertise is systematic reviews & meta-analyses, and his area of research interest includes effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of musculoskeletal conditions, including large trials (RCTs) investigating the effects of two operative techniques in patients with lumbar hernia’s (PTED study) and the role of a current protocol in those with ankle and wrist fractures (WARRIOR Trial). His teaching responsibilities include supervision of BSc and MSc internships, and lectures at all levels of academia (BSc, MSc and post-doctoral (PhD)). For a complete overview of education, employment and publications see the following link https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4819-994X.
Dr Brian COLEMAN DC. MHS (USA)
Brian C. Coleman is an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine and Biomedical Informatics at the Yale School of Medicine and Assistant Professor of Biostatistics at the Yale School of Public Health. He completed his chiropractic education at the University of Bridgeport in 2017, postdoctoral fellowship training in medical informatics at the VA Connecticut Healthcare System and Yale School of Medicine in 2020, and a Masters in Health Sciences in Clinical Research from the Yale School of Medicine in 2023. He is a health services researcher with expertise and interests in health systems implementation of nonpharmacologic interventions for musculoskeletal pain, leveraging biomedical informatics methods. His teaching responsibilities include supervising masters and doctoral students and leading a graduate course in Population and Public Health Informatics at the Yale School of Public Health. He is a K08 Clinical Scientist Career Development Award recipient from the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health of the US National Institutes of Health. For a complete overview of education, employment, and publications, see the following link: https://medicine.yale.edu/profile/brian-coleman/.
Dr Stacie SALSBURY RN, MSN, PhD (USA)
Stacie Salsbury is an Associate Professor at Palmer College of Chiropractic and a faculty member at the Palmer Center for Chiropractic Research. She is a Registered Nurse who earned the BSN, MSN, and PhD in gerontological nursing degrees at The University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa, USA. She has served as an investigator on numerous research studies funded by the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), other governmental agencies, and private foundations to explore spine care and symptom management in midlife and older adults, back pain and veterans health, patient safety, and the integration of chiropractic care into multidisciplinary settings. Her methodological approaches include ethnography, qualitative methods, clinical trials, health services research, and implementation science. Dr. Salsbury is a member of the Executive Committee of the WFC Global Patient Safety Task Force, the Scientific Commission of The Clinical Compass, the Partner Engagement and Implementation Science Workgroups of the Pain Management Collaboratory and the Implementation Science and Health Equity Cores of the Pragmatic Trials Collaboratory of the National Institutes of Health, and an editorial board member of several journals. She received the George B. McClelland Researcher of the Year Award from the American Chiropractic Association in 2022. For a complete overview of education, employment and publications see ORCID: 0000-0002-9668-2426.
Dr Michael SWAIN, PhD MPhil MChiroprac FRCC FHEA (Australia)
Michael Swain completed his chiropractic education at Macquarie University in 2004 and was awarded his PhD in 2019 from the University of Sydney, Australia. His area of expertise is observational epidemiology, and his current research interests include musculoskeletal conditions in children, adolescents, and young adults. He is an Associate Professor and Director of Research Training in the Department of Chiropractic at Macquarie University, Australia. His teaching responsibilities include convening undergraduate units, lecturing and tutoring undergraduate and postgraduate students, and supervising MChiroprac, MRes, and PhD students. His research has been awarded prizes at national and international conferences. For a complete overview of his education, employment, and publications, see the following link: https://researchers.mq.edu.au/en/persons/michael-swain/prizes/.
Dr Pernille POPP, DC
WFC Board Liaison
Dr. Pernille Popp is a newly elected member of the World Federation of Chiropractic. She graduated from the University of Southern Denmark in 2003. Since 2009, Dr. Popp has been a chiropractor and department team leader at the Spine Center, Lillebælt Hospital, Southern Denmark. She also contributes to the academic community as an external lecturer at the University of Southern Denmark. Currently, Dr. Popp is enhancing her expertise through a 5-year postgraduate program, focusing on rheumatology and orthopedics.
Prof Richard BROWN, DC, LL.M, JP
Ex-officio member
WFC Secretary-General
Richard Brown is the Secretary-General of the World Federation of Chiropractic. Based in Toronto, Canada, Richard took up his new post on 1 July 2015. The WFC, an NGO in official relations with WHO, has 88 members in 7 world regions and is principally concerned with the support, empowerment, promotion and unity of the chiropractic profession internationally.