Influence of caregiver understanding of their capability to perform activities of daily living, disease comprehension, and attitudes on occupational low back pain: a cross-sectional study.
Daiki Yokoyama, Shuntaro Tamura, Kazuki Fujisaki and 4 others
PMID 39239402WHAT IT FOUND
Caregiver ratings of repositioning, stroke, rheumatoid arthritis, and residual-function use were linked to low back pain.
The study cannot show that changing these factors prevents pain.
Key findings
01Repositioning understanding was a significant factor associated with low back pain (OR 1.61, CI 1.10-2.70).
02Stroke understanding (OR 0.48, CI 0.24-0.95) and rheumatoid arthritis understanding (OR 2.11, CI 1.16-3.85) were significant disease-understanding factors associated with low back pain.
03Considering residual functions was a significant attitude factor associated with low back pain (OR 0.68, CI 0.49-0.95).
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The study was cross-sectional, so it cannot show that understanding or attitudes caused low back pain. Only 71 of 150 distributed questionnaires were returned (47.3%), so nonresponders may differ. The questionnaire was self-reported and its items were not validated. The sample was 71 caregivers from three Japanese facilities, so it may not apply elsewhere. The direction of the repositioning association is unclear because the results report significance without a clear direction.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that teaching caregivers about repositioning, stroke, rheumatoid arthritis, or residual functions will prevent their low back pain. This was a cross-sectional self-report survey, and the paper did not test an educational intervention.