Rand Baird, DC, MPH, FICA, FICC

BS, MPH, University of Illinois Medical Center
DC, Cleveland College of Chiropractic

Faculty member of the Southern California University of Health Sciences

Dr. Baird has played a pivotal role in establishing the Chiropractic Health Care section within the American Public Health Association. There are 25 sections within APHA, but it took a good 16 years of effort before the governing council of the APHA in November 1995 voted to establish a "Chiropractic Health Care" (CHC) section. He is currently a member of the section councilors of the CHC

The APHA, established in 1872, is the oldest and largest organization of public health professionals in the world, representing more than 50,000 members from over 50 public health occupations. Dr. Baird’s column reports on the activities of chiropractic in the APHA.

Previous Articles

Help Prevent 1 Billion Deaths
March 1, 2016 (Vol. 34, Issue 05)
Help Patients Understand and Manage Menopause & Andropause
October 15, 2015 (Vol. 33, Issue 20)
Rethinking Musculoskeletal Pain – A Public Health Perspective
May 15, 2015 (Vol. 33, Issue 10)
5 Ways to Occupy Occupational Health
November 15, 2014 (Vol. 32, Issue 22)
Escaping Dystopia: What Chiropractic Can Learn From Public Health
July 1, 2014 (Vol. 32, Issue 13)
Are You Driving Patients Toward Dependence on Big Pharma?
May 1, 2014 (Vol. 32, Issue 09)
Putting Public Health Into Action: Thinking Globally, Acting Locally
March 15, 2014 (Vol. 32, Issue 06)
Perspectives: Integrating Traditional Chiropractic With 21st Century Public Health
August 15, 2013 (Vol. 31, Issue 16)
Focusing on Lifelong Prevention and Wellness: APHA Annual Meeting
February 15, 2013 (Vol. 31, Issue 04)
Chiropractic as a Profession: Altruism and Public Health Make Good Partners
November 4, 2012 (Vol. 30, Issue 23)
Chiropractic and Health Care Reform: An Uncertain Future or an Opportunity?
March 26, 2012 (Vol. 30, Issue 07)
Chiropractors Storm the Capital
January 29, 2012 (Vol. 30, Issue 03)
The U.S. Bone and Joint Decade: Why Chiropractic's Continuing Participation Is So Important
May 20, 2011 (Vol. 29, Issue 11)
Chiropractic: The Original Version of Health Care Reform
March 12, 2011 (Vol. 29, Issue 06)
APHA 2010 Annual Meeting: A Mile-High Affair
January 29, 2011 (Vol. 29, Issue 03)
Congratulations to the Chiropractic Health Care Section on 15 Years
October 21, 2010 (Vol. 28, Issue 22)
Use the National Health Observances Calendar to Promote Health for Your Patients and Practice
September 23, 2010 (Vol. 28, Issue 20)
Are We Speaking the Language of Health?
August 12, 2010 (Vol. 28, Issue 17)
Chiropractic and Public Health: Understanding and Influencing the Determinants of Health
May 6, 2010 (Vol. 28, Issue 10)
Degree Program in Malaysia Off to a Great Start
May 20, 2010 (Vol. 28, Issue 11)
Chiropractors and Public Health: Measuring Success One Patient at a Time
March 12, 2010 (Vol. 28, Issue 06)
Chiropractic and Public Health: It was a Very Good Year
January 15, 2010 (Vol. 28, Issue 02)
Ethical Purchasing and Selling by DCs
November 4, 2009 (Vol. 27, Issue 23)
Chiropractic Is Past the Demonstration Project Stage
June 3, 2009 (Vol. 27, Issue 12)
Marvelous Things Will Happen
May 6, 2009 (Vol. 27, Issue 10)
Join National Public Health Week and Build a Healthier America
February 26, 2009 (Vol. 27, Issue 05)
What If? "Chiropractor Named Surgeon General of the United States"
January 1, 2009 (Vol. 27, Issue 01)
Lower Back Pain as a Public Health Issue
September 9, 2008 (Vol. 26, Issue 19)
NYCC's Public Health Club: Modeling Leadership in Action
June 17, 2008 (Vol. 26, Issue 13)
DCs in D.C. for Chiropractic and Public Health
January 1, 2008 (Vol. 26, Issue 01)
Is Health Care a Human Right? The APHA and Chiropractic Shout "Yes" in Boston
January 29, 2007 (Vol. 25, Issue 03)
A Place for Public Health Projects in Chiropractic's International Development
July 4, 2006 (Vol. 24, Issue 14)
A Hurricane Couldn't Stop Us!
January 29, 2006 (Vol. 24, Issue 03)
Chiropractic Practice: Public Health Issues and Wellness
December 2, 2005 (Vol. 23, Issue 25)
Chiropractic in the American Public Health Association
September 14, 2005 (Vol. 23, Issue 19)
What Does Our Future Hold?
August 14, 2005 (Vol. 23, Issue 17)
Where Are the Young Turks of Chiropractic Public Health?
June 18, 2005 (Vol. 23, Issue 13)
Back to the Futurism of Chiropractic - Revisited
May 21, 2005 (Vol. 23, Issue 11)
Chiropractors, Public Health and the Aging Population
February 26, 2005 (Vol. 23, Issue 05)
Chiropractic Succeeds Again at the 2004 APHA Annual Meeting
January 29, 2005 (Vol. 23, Issue 03)
Chiropractic's Role in an Aging Society - To Be Determined
November 18, 2004 (Vol. 22, Issue 24)
WFC CAT Anti-Tobacco Posters Now Distributed Worldwide
October 7, 2004 (Vol. 22, Issue 21)
Chiropractic and Wellness: Are We Walking the Walk?
October 7, 2004 (Vol. 22, Issue 21)
WFC CAT Anti-Tobacco Posters Are Here!
August 16, 2004 (Vol. 22, Issue 17)
"But That's Not Chiropractic..."
August 16, 2004 (Vol. 22, Issue 17)
The Baird Plan for National Nutrition
July 1, 2004 (Vol. 22, Issue 14)
Our Participation on the APHA Governing Council
April 8, 2004 (Vol. 22, Issue 08)
The Annual Meeting
January 29, 2004 (Vol. 22, Issue 03)
Managed Care: Another Biased, but Educated, Opinion
August 15, 1995 (Vol. 13, Issue 17)
Confusion vs. Illusion
July 29, 1996 (Vol. 14, Issue 16)
Public Health -- More Than Just Microbes
August 25, 1997 (Vol. 15, Issue 18)
Chiropractic Section of American Public Health Association Needs You!
July 26, 1999 (Vol. 17, Issue 16)
Chiropractic Well Represented at Annual American Public Health Association Meeting
March 22, 1999 (Vol. 17, Issue 07)
Chiropractic, Public Health, and International Alphabet Soup
September 12, 2001 (Vol. 19, Issue 19)
Report on American Public Health Association's Annual Meeting
January 29, 2001 (Vol. 19, Issue 03)
Chiropractic within Public Health - A Fish on a Bicycle?
November 4, 2002 (Vol. 20, Issue 23)
Chiropractic in Pattaya, Thailand
August 16, 2002 (Vol. 20, Issue 17)
Chiropractic at APHA's "Post-9/11" Annual Meeting
January 14, 2002 (Vol. 20, Issue 02)
Health Disparities Among Minorities in the U.S.
November 30, 2003 (Vol. 21, Issue 25)
Ant or Grasshopper?
October 6, 2003 (Vol. 21, Issue 21)
Why the APHA?
July 14, 2003 (Vol. 21, Issue 15)
Questions and Answers and Questions (QAQs)
June 2, 2003 (Vol. 21, Issue 12)
Remembering Those Who Pave the Way
April 21, 2003 (Vol. 21, Issue 09)
Chiropractic Progress Evident at 2002 APHA Annual Meeting
January 14, 2003 (Vol. 21, Issue 02)
Trending
News / Profession
MAHA Launches Chiropractic Hub
MAHA Launches Chiropractic Hub

Building on a historic March 2026 meeting between Make America Healthy Again and chiropractic leadership, MAHA has announced the launch of the MAHA Chiropractic Hub, “a coordinated national partnership uniting MAHA Center, MAHA Action, and the chiropractic profession, including national associations, state organizations, practitioners, educators, researchers, and patient advocates. The Chiropractic Hub will advance federal policy, expand patient access, and build broad public support for chiropractic care across America.”

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Dynamic Chiropractic Staff
Education & Seminars
Confronting the Threat to Chiropractic Education
Confronting the Threat to Chiropractic Education

The chiropractic profession is confronting one of the most significant federal regulatory threats it has faced in decades. A new U.S. Department of Education (ED) accountability framework – commonly referred to as the “Do No Harm” (DNH) regulation – could place many chiropractic programs at risk of losing access to federal financial aid (student loans), potentially reshaping the future of chiropractic education and workforce development across the United States.

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Healthcare / Public Health
From Pain Scores to Performance Metrics
From Pain Scores to Performance Metrics

Pain has become the dominant language of musculoskeletal healthcare. Numeric pain-rating scales and symptom reports are routinely used as primary indicators of clinical success. But while pain reduction is meaningful, it is an incomplete and often misleading representation of recovery. This has real consequences for patient adherence, long-term outcomes, and how conservative care is perceived within the broader healthcare system.

Christopher Proulx, DC, PhD(ABD), CSCS