The experiences and needs of people seeking primary care for low-back pain in Australia
Open accessAbstract
Introduction: There is a knowledge gap about the current experiences and needs of people with low back pain (LBP) seeking primary care in Australia. Objectives: The aim of this study was to understand the experiences and needs of Australians who have received treatment for LBP in primary care. Methods: This was a prospective, cross-sectional internet survey conducted between July 2017 and September 2017. Participants were adults who had experienced an episode of LBP in the past year, had sought primary care in Australia, and were proficient in English. Outcomes were patient-reported experiences about primary care treatment, including reasons for seeking care, health care practitioners consulted, components of care received, and patients' evaluations of the importance and helpfulness of treatment. Results: A total of 426 Australians completed the survey. The response rate of survey completion was 50%. Participants reported seeking primary care for LBP not only for pain relief, but for difficulties with activities and participation with usual social roles as well as quality of life and mood. Participants consulted multiple health care practitioners and used numerous treatment modalities. Only half reported they received education and a very low proportion were aware of receiving guideline-based advice. The level of satisfaction with care was below moderate for 42% of respondents. Participants reported that they want LBP care to be more person-centred and better tailored to their needs; they also reported wanting more education, particularly about prevention of future episodes and self-management. Conclusions: The needs of people currently seeking primary care for LBP in Australia do not seem to be adequately met. Improving patients' experiences and outcomes may require better integration of health care across providers and delivery of more person-centred care.
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An Australian survey found that 28% of patients who had sought primary care treatment for low back pain in the preceding year consulted between four to eight different practitioners for their low back pain.
“Results from an Australian survey of patients who had sought primary care treatment for LBP in the preceding year found that 28% of patients consulted between four to eight different practitioners for their LBP.114”
From Psychological interventions for chronic, non-specific low back pain: systematic review with network meta-analysis (2022) · cites this paper as [114]
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- Authors
- Ahern, M., Dean, C. M., Dear, B. F., Willcock, S. M., & Hush, J. M.
- Affiliations
- Macquarie University (AU)
- Corresponding author
- Hush, Julia Margaret
- Venue
- PAIN Reports
- Published
- 2019-07
- Volume
- 4
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- e756
- ISSN
- 2471-2531 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC6728007
- OpenAlex
- W2955250068
- Cited by
- 50
- References
- 22
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 9
- FWCI
- 4.03
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- PAIN Reports (publishedVersion, cc-by-nd)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nd)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology › Musculoskeletal pain and rehabilitation
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Primary Care and Health Outcomes
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pathology and Forensic Medicine › Spine and Intervertebral Disc Pathology
- Keywords
- low back pain, primary care, patient experience, patient needs, patient satisfaction, person-centred care, self-management education, integrated care, quality of life, activities of daily living
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