Perceptions of advice for acute low back pain: a content analysis of qualitative data collected in a randomised experiment
Christopher Maher,
Adrian C Traeger,
James H McAuley,
Mary O'Keeffe,
Hazel Jenkins,
Giovanni E Ferreira,
Joshua Zadro,
Caitlin Jones,
Jingjing Yang,
Courtney A West,
Lidiya Augustine
Affiliations
Christopher Maher
2 Sydney Musculoskeletal Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Adrian C Traeger
1 Institute for Musculoskeletal Health, School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney and Sydney Local Health District, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
James H McAuley
6 University of New South Wales, Neuroscience Research Australia, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Mary O'Keeffe
Sydney Musculoskeletal Health, The University of Sydney and Sydney Local Health District, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Hazel Jenkins
14 Department of Chiropractic, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Giovanni E Ferreira
Sydney Musculoskeletal Health, The University of Sydney and Sydney Local Health District, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Joshua Zadro
Institute for Musculoskeletal Health, The University of Sydney and Sydney Local Health District, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Caitlin Jones
Institute for Musculoskeletal Health, The University of Sydney and Sydney Local Health District, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Jingjing Yang
Department of Surgical Oncology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang, Hangzhou, China
Courtney A West
Sydney Musculoskeletal Health, Institute for Musculoskeletal Health, Sydney School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney and Sydney Local Health District, Sydney, NSW, Australia
Lidiya Augustine
1 School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Objectives To explore how people perceive three different forms of advice for acute low back pain (LBP).Design Content analysis of qualitative data collected in a three-arm randomised experiment.Participants 2200 participants with acute LBP (ie, pain duration for ≤6 weeks) were randomly assigned to receive three types of advice: guideline advice and guideline advice with the addition of either brief pain science or ergonomics messages.Primary and secondary outcomes After receiving the advice, participants answered two questions: ‘If your health professional gave you this advice, how would it make you feel?’ and ‘If your health professional gave you this advice, what treatments (if any) do you think you would need?’ Two researchers coded responses using deductive content analysis.Results We analysed 4400 free-text responses from 2200 participants. There were little to no differences in participants’ feelings, thoughts and expectations after receiving three types of advice for acute LBP. Participants most commonly expressed feeling positive about the advice (38%–35%), reassured (23%–22%) and empowered (10%–8%). Some expressed being unhappy or being frustrated with the advice (4%–3%). Participants most commonly thought they needed no treatment apart from staying active, followed by exercise and medication.Conclusions Guideline advice with or without the addition of brief pain science or ergonomics messages generated positive feelings, reassurance or a sense of empowerment in many people with acute LBP, with no difference between types of advice.Trial registration number ACTRN12623000364673.
