Qualitative study exploring the views of patients and healthcare providers on current rehabilitation practices after lumbar fusion surgery.

Objectives: To explore the views of patients and healthcare providers on current rehabilitation after lumbar fusion surgery (LFS) to fuel the development of a novel rehabilitation care pathway.
Design: A cross-sectional, qualitative study with an interpretive descriptive design.
Setting: Academic and non-academic hospital setting in Belgium.
Participants: 31 caregivers from (non)-academic settings and 5 patients with LFS were purposefully sampled and in-depth interviewed.
Results: Out of the data of all interviews, participants reported opinions on 23 thematic clusters that were expressed in a time-contingent manner from the preoperative, perioperative to postoperative phase. Afterwards, themes were mapped to the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research, with a larger role for concepts related to the innovation, inner and individual domain. As an overarching theme, the importance of an 'individualised, patient-centred rehabilitation built on a strong therapeutic alliance with an accessible interprofessional team' was stressed for patients undergoing LFS. Specifically, participants stated that a biopsychosocial approach to rehabilitation should start in the preoperative phase and immediately be continued postoperatively. No consensus was observed for movement restrictions postoperatively. Uniform communication between the involved caregivers was considered essential for optimal therapeutic alliance and clinical outcome. The precise role and competence of each member of the interprofessional team needs, therefore, to be clearly defined, respected and discussed. An accessible case manager to guide the patient trajectory and tackle problems could further support this. Interestingly, only patients, psychologists and physiotherapists addressed return to work as an important outcome after LFS.
Conclusions: This qualitative study identified key experiences and points to consider in the current and future rehabilitation pathway for LFS. Future research should incorporate these findings to build a novel rehabilitation pathway for LFS and evaluate its feasibility and cost-effectiveness.
Trial Registration Number: This study was registered at clinicaltrials.gov (NCT03427294).
Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared.
(© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)