Health education needs among individuals with low back pain

Abstract

Lack of positive results from many of the health-education programmes for patients with low-back pain (LBP) is possibly due to the type of health information that may have been presented and the method that had been used. The present study sought to explore health-education needs among individuals with LBP. A qualitative approach that utilised in-depth interviews and a focus-group discussion was used. Data was drawn from ten participants attending physiotherapy treatment due to a non-specific LBP at the Nairobi Hospital Rehabilitation Unit, using purposive sampling. A thematic analysis procedure was used to analyse the data. The study found the participants’ health education needs to be incongruent with the medical professionals’ assumptions of what the patients’ health education needs were. Deficiencies in explanation of the cause, diagnosis, prognosis, and the appropriate use of health services were found. The findings suggest that a more encompassing model of health education was believed to be more fitting. Since the findings indicate that the individuals with LBP require health education on various aspects, a Rehabilitative Model of health education was probably more pertinent to the individuals. That way, a more encompassing, all-inclusive model of health education would cover on the aspects that were currently neglected.

Keywords

• back pain
• health education
• patients
• needs