Clinical staff involvement in the management of low back pain in Danish general practice: interview study

Allan Riis, Lise Eckardt Hansen, Emma Louise Karran, Jonathan C. Hill, Camilla Hoffmann Merrild, Janus Laust Thomsen

Research output: Contribution to conference without a publisher/journalAbstractResearchpeer-review

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Involving clinical staff members in providing information and education to patients with low back pain (LBP) may improve care in general practice, particularly where patients are expected to be encouraged to stay active and limit sick leave. To help reduce the general practice workload with LBP, policy makers are requesting a shift in the allocation of tasks within the wider clinical team. However, patients’ acceptance of this shift is unknown. The aim is to explore patients’ experiences and perceptions of including wider clinical
staff members in the management of their LBP in general practice.

METHODS
This is a semi-structured interview study in Danish general practice. Patients participating in a pilot study of task-delegation to clinical staff (other than General practitioners) will be recruited for in-depth interviews. We will use a phenomenological approach to guide the data collection and analysis to gain insight into the subjective experiences and perceptions of the patients treated via a new clinical model of care. The sample size will be guided by saturation.

RESULTS
Five physiotherapists have been trained as general practice consultants and have conducted four out of five planned outreach visits to educate clinical staff members in the ‘best-practice’ management of LBP. The new model of care has been delivered to 10 out of 50 patients. Interviewing of 8 – 12 patients is planned from January 2021. We plan to present preliminary themes from the interviews at the congress.

CONCLUSIONS
Knowledge of patients’ experiences and perceptions of clinical staff involved in new LBP treatment roles is important to inform the future management of LBP in general practice, particularly in the context where clinical roles for wider general practice team are expanding.
Original languageEnglish
Publication date2022
Number of pages1
Publication statusPublished - 2022
Event22nd Nordic Congress of General Practice 2022: On the edge, general practice for future generations - Stavanger, Norway
Duration: 21 Jun 202223 Jun 2022
Conference number: 22
https://www.ncgp2022.no/

Conference

Conference22nd Nordic Congress of General Practice 2022
Number22
Country/TerritoryNorway
CityStavanger
Period21/06/2223/06/22
Internet address

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