Primary care barriers and facilitators to nonpharmacologic treatments for low back pain: A qualitative pilot study.
Eric J Roseen, Christopher Joyce, Sophie Winbush and 8 others
PMID 38695321WHAT IT FOUND
Primary care providers in safety-net clinics cited cost, lack of insurance coverage, and poor connections to community providers as major barriers to nonpharmacologic low back pain care.
They noted that embedded services and community health worker support for logistics could help.
Key findings
01Participants identified cost and limited insurance coverage as primary barriers to nonpharmacologic treatments for low back pain.
02Providers reported inadequate connections between primary care clinics and community-based nonpharmacologic treatment providers, making referrals difficult.
03Community health workers were seen as potentially helpful for resource linking, such as arranging rides to physical therapy, and providing social support.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The sample was very small (eight participants) and included only two community health workers. The study was conducted at a single safety-net hospital in Boston, so findings may not apply to other healthcare systems or populations. The study was a pilot to test the interview guide, not a definitive analysis of barriers. Recruitment was interrupted by the pandemic, limiting the scope.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The study was approved by the Boston University Medical Campus Institutional Review Board.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret these findings as evidence that nonpharmacologic treatments are ineffective or that community health workers improve outcomes. This was a small pilot study identifying perceived barriers in one specific safety-net setting, not a trial testing an intervention.
Summarised by AI from the full paper, without a clinician reviewing it. Check it against the source before it changes what you do. Read it on PubMed →