Cited by 22Patient-Provider Communication in HealthcareMusculoskeletal pain and rehabilitationHealth Policy Implementation Science

Physiotherapists’ Approaches to Patients’ Concerns in Back Pain Consultations Following a Psychologically Informed Training Program

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Cowell, Ian, McGregor, Alison, O’Sullivan, Peter, O’Sullivan, Kieran, Poyton, Ross, Schoeb, Veronika, Murtagh, Ged·2021·Qualitative Health Research

Abstract

Guidelines advocate a combined physical and psychological approach to managing non-specific chronic low back pain (NSCLBP), referred to as psychologically informed practice (PIP). PIP is underpinned by patient-centered principles and skilled communication. Evidence suggests that a physiotherapist-focused style of communication prevails in physiotherapy. There is a recognized need for observational research to identify specific communication practices in physiotherapy interactions. This observational study explored the interactional negotiation of agenda setting following a PIP training intervention, by identifying and describing how physiotherapists solicit and respond to the agenda of concerns that patients with NSCLBP bring to primary care initial encounters. The research setting was primary care. Nineteen initial physiotherapy consultations were video-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using conversation analysis, a qualitative observational method. These data revealed a patient-focused style of communication where trained physiotherapists demonstrated a collaborative and responsive style of verbal and nonverbal communication to solicit, explore, and validate patients’ concerns.

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  • Psychologically informed physical therapy programs help physical therapists integrate emotional and cognitive components of care and are advantageous to implementation of interdisciplinary programs.

    “The development of psychologically informed physical therapy (PiPT) programs help physical therapists integrate emotional/cognitive components of care and is advantageous to implementation of interdisciplinary programs.22,29-31”

    From Remotely Delivered Psychologically Informed Mindful Movement Physical Therapy for Pain Care: A Framework for Operationalization (2023) · cites this paper as [29]

    The Discussion (Exploring Patients’ Emotional Concerns; page unavailable) reports that physiotherapists following training treated patients’ emotional concerns as integral to consultations. The Conclusion (page unavailable) describes greater exploration and validation of patients’ concerns after training. But the paper does not establish that the program caused these changes or show that it benefited implementation of interdisciplinary programs; the Methods explicitly say its non-randomized design cannot determine training effectiveness. (LLM, conf=0.87)

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4 of the 85 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 5

  1. Heritage J. Watson R. (1979). Formulations as conversational objects. In Psathas G. (Ed.), Everyday language (pp. 123– 162). Irvington Press.
  2. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. (2016). Low back pain and sciatica in over 16s: Assessment and management [Clinical Guidelines]. 27929617
  3. Robinson J. (2006b). Soliciting patients’ concerns. In Heritage J. Mayan M. (Eds.), Communication in medical care (pp. 22– 47). Cambridge University Press.
  4. Sidnell J. (2010). Repair. In Conversation analysis: An introduction (pp. 11– 138). Wiley-Blackwell. Chichester, UK.
  5. Silverman D. (2004). Qualitative research (2nd ed.). SAGE.

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Authors
Cowell, I., McGregor, A., O’Sullivan, P., O’Sullivan, K., Poyton, R., Schoeb, V., & Murtagh, G.
Affiliations
  • Imperial College London (GB)
  • Curtin University (AU)
  • University of Limerick (IE)
  • HES-SO University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland (CH)
Corresponding author
Cowell, Ian
Venue
Qualitative Health Research
Published
2021-10-07
Volume
31
Issue
13
Pages
2486-2501
ISSN
  • 1049-7323 (ISSN-L)
  • 1552-7557
OpenAlex
W3204281985
Cited by
22
References
85
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 3
FWCI
4.78
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Qualitative Health Research (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Arrow@dit (Dublin Institute of Technology) (acceptedVersion)
  • University of Limerick Institutional Repository (University of Limerick) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
  • Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
  • ArODES (HES-SO (https://www.hes-so.ch/)) (submittedVersion)
  • Spiral (Imperial College London) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
Funders
  • Private Physiotherapy Educational Foundation
  • Musculoskeletal Association of Chartered Physiotherapists
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Patient-Provider Communication in Healthcare
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology › Musculoskeletal pain and rehabilitation
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health Policy Implementation Science
Keywords
chronic non-specific low back pain, physiotherapist-patient communication, agenda setting, patient concerns, patient-centered care, primary care physiotherapy, nonverbal communication, collaborative communication, training program
MeSH terms
Attitude of Health Personnel, Humans, Professional-Patient Relations, Referral and Consultation, Research Design, Low Back Pain, Physical Therapy Modalities, Physical Therapists

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