Reassurance and health care seeking in people with persistent musculoskeletal low back pain consulting orthopaedic spine practitioners: A prospective cohort study
Reassurance and health care seeking in people with persistent musculoskeletal low back pain consulting orthopaedic spine practitioners: A prospective cohort study
Background
Guidelines recommend self-management for most people living with persistent musculoskeletal low back pain (PMLBP) when surgery is ruled out. Conveying this message to patients can be challenging. This study examined patients' perceptions of reassuring communications from surgical spine team practitioners attempting to deliver this message in a single consultation.
Methods
Pre-consultation baseline measures included levels of pain, disability and previous consultation history. Patients' perceptions of reassuring communications were measured within 1-week post-consultation. The outcome variables, measured at 3-month follow-up, included patients’ report of subsequent GP visits for back pain, the number of other healthcare providers consulted for back pain and distress.
Results
Data from 296 patients (9.8% loss to follow-up) were analysed using hierarchical regression models, controlling for demographic, clinical and study-related factors. In each model, perceived reassurance accounted for a small but significant variance, above and beyond other predictors. Further GP visits were predicted by disability at baseline and perceived reassurance (adjusted R2 of 14.6%). Subsequent consultations with any healthcare professionals were predicted by a shorter duration of back pain, disability at baseline and perceived reassurance (adj. R2 = 10.6%). Distress was predicted by older age, disability and reassurance (adj. R2 = 59.5%).
Conclusion
Findings suggest that better communication in consultations with orthopaedic spine clinicians might help reduce unnecessary subsequent healthcare utilization and distress.
Significance
Low back pain patients' perceptions of their communication with orthopaedic spine practitioners are associated with subsequent healthcare seeking and distress at follow-up. This study examines the intersection of two important but fairly neglected areas in the pain research: provider communication and patient healthcare utilization.
1540 - 1550
Braeuninger-Weimer, Kathrin
68e2ec85-e120-4819-a83b-5960d6c8492d
Rooslien, Hanna
36169c72-a8cd-4fc6-80a8-9645980d9467
Anjarwalla, Naffis
acf45c42-ee96-491c-9225-1fec6090a0db
Pincus, Tamar
55388347-5d71-4fc0-9fd2-66fbba080e0c
2 April 2021
Braeuninger-Weimer, Kathrin
68e2ec85-e120-4819-a83b-5960d6c8492d
Rooslien, Hanna
36169c72-a8cd-4fc6-80a8-9645980d9467
Anjarwalla, Naffis
acf45c42-ee96-491c-9225-1fec6090a0db
Pincus, Tamar
55388347-5d71-4fc0-9fd2-66fbba080e0c
Braeuninger-Weimer, Kathrin, Rooslien, Hanna, Anjarwalla, Naffis and Pincus, Tamar
(2021)
Reassurance and health care seeking in people with persistent musculoskeletal low back pain consulting orthopaedic spine practitioners: A prospective cohort study.
European Journal of Pain, 25 (7), .
(doi:10.1002/ejp.1765).
Abstract
Background
Guidelines recommend self-management for most people living with persistent musculoskeletal low back pain (PMLBP) when surgery is ruled out. Conveying this message to patients can be challenging. This study examined patients' perceptions of reassuring communications from surgical spine team practitioners attempting to deliver this message in a single consultation.
Methods
Pre-consultation baseline measures included levels of pain, disability and previous consultation history. Patients' perceptions of reassuring communications were measured within 1-week post-consultation. The outcome variables, measured at 3-month follow-up, included patients’ report of subsequent GP visits for back pain, the number of other healthcare providers consulted for back pain and distress.
Results
Data from 296 patients (9.8% loss to follow-up) were analysed using hierarchical regression models, controlling for demographic, clinical and study-related factors. In each model, perceived reassurance accounted for a small but significant variance, above and beyond other predictors. Further GP visits were predicted by disability at baseline and perceived reassurance (adjusted R2 of 14.6%). Subsequent consultations with any healthcare professionals were predicted by a shorter duration of back pain, disability at baseline and perceived reassurance (adj. R2 = 10.6%). Distress was predicted by older age, disability and reassurance (adj. R2 = 59.5%).
Conclusion
Findings suggest that better communication in consultations with orthopaedic spine clinicians might help reduce unnecessary subsequent healthcare utilization and distress.
Significance
Low back pain patients' perceptions of their communication with orthopaedic spine practitioners are associated with subsequent healthcare seeking and distress at follow-up. This study examines the intersection of two important but fairly neglected areas in the pain research: provider communication and patient healthcare utilization.
Text
European Journal of Pain - 2021 - Braeuninger‐Weimer - Reassurance and healthcare seeking in people with persistent
- Version of Record
More information
Accepted/In Press date: 23 March 2021
Published date: 2 April 2021
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 467598
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/467598
ISSN: 1090-3801
PURE UUID: 1931baf2-2f15-4f83-9275-137f4ac88333
Catalogue record
Date deposited: 14 Jul 2022 17:18
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 04:11
Export record
Altmetrics
Contributors
Author:
Kathrin Braeuninger-Weimer
Author:
Hanna Rooslien
Author:
Naffis Anjarwalla
Author:
Tamar Pincus
Download statistics
Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.
View more statistics