My Back My Plan is a feasible and acceptable individualised program for acute low back pain in primary care
Malene Ahern
A * , Catherine M. Dean B , Blake F. Dear C , Simon M. Willcock D and Julia M. Hush B
A Department of Psychology, Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences, Australian Hearing Hub, Level 2 and Level 3, 16 University Avenue, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia.
B Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences, Ground Floor, 75 Talavera Road, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia.
C Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia.
D Macquarie University Health Sciences Centre, 2 Technology Place, Macquarie Park, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia.
Australian Journal of Primary Health 28(5) 444-453 https://doi.org/10.1071/PY21207
Submitted: 23 August 2021 Accepted: 28 June 2022 Published: 7 September 2022
© 2022 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of La Trobe University. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)
Abstract
Background: Low back pain is the largest cause of years lived with a disability in Australia, and there is an urgent need for innovations to address global gaps between evidence and practice.
Methods: This study was a phase 1, single-group, pre–post pilot trial of My Back My Plan, a primary care program for acute low back pain. The trial was conducted at MQ Health Primary Care at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia. The primary outcomes were feasibility and acceptability.
Results: Fourteen participants were recruited to the study, with 79% and 93% followed up at 1 and 3 months respectively. Ten general practitioners and four physiotherapists at MQ Health Primary Care delivered the intervention. Although the rate of patient recruitment to the trial was low, other aspects of feasibility (such as intervention adherence and safety) were high. Participating clinicians reported that the program was useful for patients, and the majority stated that the program facilitated person-centred care. Patients rated My Back My Plan as highly acceptable, indicating that they had a better understanding of their low back pain, they were given personalised care and were more confident in self-managing their low back pain. At the 3 month follow-up, 85% of participants stated they were very likely to recommend the program to others.
Conclusions: This study suggests that the co-designed, contextually refined MBMP program for MQ Health Primary Care is acceptable to people with acute onset low back pain and warrants further evaluation.
Keywords: acceptability, back pain, feasibility, general practice, integrated care, person-centred, physiotherapy, primary care.
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