DO THE ATTITUDES AND BELIEFS OF HEALTH CARE PRACTITIONERS INFLUENCE THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS ABOUT WORK FOR PATIENTS WITH LOW BACK PAIN?

Abstract

Introduction: Previous studies have shown that advice given to patients with low back pain (LBP) by health care practitioners (HCPs) such as physiotherapists (PTs) and general practitioners (GPs) is not in line with guidelines about encouraging early return to work. The aim of this study was to describe the attitudes, beliefs and reported practice behaviour of UK GPs and PTs about LBP and to explore associations between these.

Methods: A national cross-sectional survey of GPs and PTs (n=4000), including an attitudes measure, the Pain Attitudes and Beliefs Scale (PABS.PT), which measures ‘biomedical and behavioural orientations of HCPs. A vignette describing a patient with non-specific LBP, who had a four-week absence from work, was used to capture reported clinical management. This presentation will focus on the findings about work advice.

Results: Response rates were 22% (n=446) for GPs and 55% (n=1091) for PTs. Almost one third of GPs (32%) and one in four PTs (25%) reported that they would advise the vignette patient to remain off work. The HCPs advising the vignette patient to remain off work had significantly higher biomedical (F_1,988=78.85, p< 0.001) and lower behavioural (F_1,981=31.89, p< 0.001) scores on the PABS.PT than those suggesting a return to work.

Conclusion: An association between attitudes and reported practice behaviour was apparent, with HCPs operating within a predominantly biomedical framework being more likely to advise a patient with back pain to stay off work. Further research should explore how HCPs’ attitudes might be changed and whether this results in changes in work recommendations.