An Internet-Based Consumer Resource for People with Low Back Pain (MyBackPain): Development and Evaluation.
Paul William Hodges, Jenny Setchell, Mandy Nielsen
PMID 32229467WHAT IT FOUND
This paper describes the creation of a consumer website for low back pain.
It details how patients and experts shaped the content. It does not report results from the trial testing whether the website improves health or literacy.
Key findings
01The website content was developed using consumer needs and expert consensus, resulting in 30 key messages and summaries of 80 treatments.
02A randomized controlled trial was conducted to test the website's impact, but the long-term outcomes and trial results were not finalized or reported in this paper.
03Qualitative evaluations identified tensions in the website's messaging, such as the potential to induce guilt in patients who cannot meet activity targets.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The primary study described is a development report, not a clinical trial report. The effectiveness of the intervention is unknown because the trial results were not included. The qualitative evaluations were conducted by the research team, which may introduce bias in interpreting the tensions and user feedback. The website content is specific to the Australian healthcare context and consumer body (Arthritis Australia), which may limit direct applicability in other jurisdictions.
Declared interests
Conflicts of Interest: None declared. The study was funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and the Arthritis Foundation of Australia.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume this website has been proven to improve patient outcomes or literacy. The paper describes the tool's creation and the trial protocol, but explicitly states that the trial results were not yet available at the time of publication.