Ethics and Risk Management for Special Populations

Recorded On: 05/02/2026

This course provides chiropractic practitioners with a comprehensive framework for ethical decision-making and risk management when treating special patient populations. Practitioners increasingly encounter patients whose unique physiological, psychological, social, or legal circumstances require heightened awareness, modified clinical approaches, and rigorous documentation practices.

Special populations addressed in this course include but are not limited to: pediatric patients and minors, geriatric patients, pregnant patients, patients with cognitive or developmental disabilities, and patients with complex comorbidities. For each population, the course examines the intersection of clinical responsibility, informed consent, professional boundaries, mandatory reporting obligations, and scope-of-practice considerations.

Learning Objectives:

Articulate the core ethical principles: autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice, as they apply to chiropractic practice with vulnerable and special patient populations
Describe the legal and ethical standards for obtaining valid informed consent, including modifications required for minors and cognitively impaired patients.
Reflect on personal biases, assumptions, and cultural competency gaps that may affect the quality and equity of care delivered to special populations.
Identify the warning signs of practitioner impairment, boundary erosion, and ethical drift, and describe pathways to peer consultation or professional support.

Kristina Petrocco-Napuli, DC, MS, DHPE, FICC, FACC

As an energetic international speaker, educator and practitioner Dr. Kristina Petrocco-Napuli’s lectures correlate everyday practice with cutting-edge, evidence-based information. By sharing her passion as a provider and incorporating learner-centered strategies, her lectures inform, challenge and enlighten.

After completing her chiropractic degree from New York Chiropractic College (NYCC), Dr. Petrocco-Napuli began a postdoctoral fellowship in technique at New York Chiropractic College. She also achieved a master’s degree in Instructional Design, Development and Evaluation from Syracuse University. She is currently the Assistant Dean College of Chiropractic at Logan University and maintains adjunct status for helping co-develop the New York Chiropractic College’s Master of Science in Human Anatomy and Physiology Instruction program. Dr. Petrocco-Napuli is the President of the ACA Council on Women’s Health. Recently, in recognition of her service to the profession, she was elected a Fellow in the International College of Chiropractors and the 2020 ACA Academician of the Year.

Women’s health, especially related to natural healthcare plans, has been Dr. Petrocco-Napuli’s focus for more than two decades. She has been actively involved in research related to pelvic pain in females and has authored both clinical and educational articles on this topic. Her practice and research centers on chronic pain in the female population, lower extremity amputees and gait, and integrative collaborative practices.

For many years, Dr.Petrocco-Napuli has focused on the integration of practitioners in the patient centered model of care and evaluating methods of effectively working on a team of healthcare professionals. This interest began many years ago while on an internship at the Camp Lejeune Naval Hospital Chiropractic Clinic and has been reinforced by her involvement on multiple grant projects regarding the training of healthcare providers in inter-collaborative care.

During her lectures, Dr. Petrocco-Napuli focuses on the physiological journey related to female health and special populations. As an educator on a variety of topics related to chiropractic practice, she enjoys working and meeting with practitioners from around the globe.