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Management of acute low back pain: the practices and perspectives of primary care clinicians in Australia
- Source :
- Australian Journal of Primary Health. 26:256
- Publication Year :
- 2020
- Publisher :
- CSIRO Publishing, 2020.
-
Abstract
- Low back pain (LBP) is the highest cause of years lived with a disability in Australia and the most frequent musculoskeletal condition for which patients seek primary care. The aims of this study were to: (1) evaluate the current practices and perspectives of Australian GPs and physiotherapists managing acute back pain; and (2) explore alignment of care with clinical guidelines. This was a prospective cross-sectional Internet survey conducted from March 2018 to May 2018 of experienced Australian GPs and physiotherapists. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse all quantitative outcomes. Two hundred primary care practitioners (72% physiotherapists and 28% GPs) from all States and Territories of Australia completed the survey. Most primary care practitioners were familiar with clinical guidelines for acute back pain management and reported delivery of many of the core components of guideline-based care, including education, advice about favourable prognosis, encouraging activity and self-management and discouraging prolonged bed rest. Deviations from guideline-based care were common, including provision of analgesic medication, passive therapies and using radiological imaging. Australian primary care clinicians in this sample were aware of back pain guidelines and typically implement care that is consistent with guideline-based recommendations. Divergences from these guidelines may indicate that primary care practitioners are delivering evidence-based and person-centred care that integrates clinicians’ judgement with patients’ preferences and guideline-based evidence.
- Subjects :
- Adult
Male
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
medicine.medical_specialty
Evidence-based practice
MEDLINE
Population health
Physicians, Primary Care
03 medical and health sciences
0302 clinical medicine
Surveys and Questionnaires
Health care
medicine
Back pain
Humans
030212 general & internal medicine
Referral and Consultation
Aged
Primary Health Care
business.industry
Health Policy
Australia
Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
Guideline
Middle Aged
Low back pain
Physical Therapists
Cross-Sectional Studies
Family medicine
Acute Disease
Practice Guidelines as Topic
Community health
Female
medicine.symptom
business
Low Back Pain
030217 neurology & neurosurgery
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 14487527
- Volume :
- 26
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Australian Journal of Primary Health
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....c13e16f038fe36e6ab6a1b08a7f474b8
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1071/py19152