Rasmussen Barr E.1, Öwall S.1
1Karolinska Instiutet, Neruobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Physiotherapy, Stockholm, Sweden
Background: Low back pain (LBP) is a common health problem with multifactorial causes. Little is known on what patient reported outcome measurements and clinical tests physiotherapists (PTs) in primary care use for assessment of LBP and how they find them useful.
Purpose: The aim of this study is to find what patient reported outcome measurements (PROMs) and clinical tests physiotherapists in primary health care use in their assessment of patients with LBP, and in what ways they find them useful for tailoring treatment plans.
Methods: A survey that comprised 34 multiple-choice questions on the use of PROMs and clinical testing and 4 open questions was sent out linked in an e-mail to approximately 5000 physiotherapists working in primary health care in Sweden through a mailing list from the Swedish Association of Physiotherapists.
Results: Data from the survey is collected but not analysed. A pilot trial revealed that PROMs were rarely used whereas clinical tests were commonly used except for movement control tests. PROMs and clinical tests were considered useful to set diagnose, set goals, evaluate and adapt treatment, understand the patient and to see the whole picture. Most PTs consider themselves have enough knowledge to assess patients with LBP based on knowledge gained from graduate education, collegues, clinical experience and post graduate studies. PTs experience lack of education on yellow flags, movement control tests and on how to choose PROMs and clinical tests. The data is under analysis.
Conclusion(s): Conclusion from the trial is from a pilot. Even though PTs find PROMs and clinical tests useful in the clinical reasoning process for setting diagnosis, adapt treatment and set goals, PROMs are sparsely used. The PTs´ express the need of education on psychosocial factors and on how to choose assessment instruments.
Implications: This study will broadened the knowledge on how assessments of LBP is carried out by PTs in primary health care in Sweden in order to target treatment. The wish for more knowledge on yellow flags, and on how to choose instruments and sparse using of PROMs calls for better education and perhaps even enforcement of these elements in the graduate education. This is in line with from a Swedish governmental report in which it is implied that more research is needed on non-pharmacologic methods to determine what factors make acute LBP to become chronic.
Funding acknowledgements: The Swedish physiotherapy association
Topic: Primary health care
Ethics approval: Regional Ethical Committee in Stockholm. Diary number 2016/354-31/4.
All authors, affiliations and abstracts have been published as submitted.
