Clinical trial NCT05661968: Efficacy of an Online Educational Program to Change Back Pain Beliefs in Physical Therapists
Official title: Efficacy of an Online Educational Program to Change Back Pain Beliefs in Physical Therapists: a Randomized Controlled Trial
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Low Back Pain
Keywords: Low back pain
Online educational program
Beliefs
Physical Therapists
Lead sponsor: Federal University of Minas Gerais
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2022-12-22
Enrollment: 106
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: TREATMENT

Brief summary: The goal of this clinical trial is to investigate the efficacy of an online educational program for physical therapists to change back pain beliefs. The main questions it aims to answer are:

- What is the effect of an online educational program to change beliefs about the management of back pain in physical therapists?

A total of 106 physical therapists will be recruited for this study. Participants will be randomized into two groups: intervention and control groups. The intervention group will receive a 6-week online educational program including recommendations from international clinical practice guidelines for the management of back pain. The control group will not receive any intervention. The outcomes of this trial include beliefs about management of back pain and imaging exams and will be assessed at baseline and 6 weeks after randomization.


Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* must be a licensed physical therapist;
* currently managing patients with low back pain, regardless of the duration of symptoms, in clinical practice;
* if not currently managing patients with low back pain, participants must have treated at least one patient in the last month.

(Patients with low back pain are defined as those patients reporting pain between the lower border of the last vertebral ribs and the gluteal fold, with or without pain referred to the lower limb).

Exclusion Criteria:

* not having access or reporting difficulty in accessing the internet.

Primary outcomes:
measure: Modified Back Belief Questionnaire
timeFrame: Post-intervention (i.e. 6 weeks after randomization)
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Back Pain Attitudes Questionnaire (Back-PAQ)
timeFrame: Post-intervention (i.e. 6 weeks after randomization)
measure: Beliefs regarding imaging exams
timeFrame: Post-intervention (i.e. 6 weeks after randomization)
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Belo Horizonte
country: Brazil
facility: Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais
state: Minas Gerais
Study officials:
affiliation: Universidade Federal de Minas Geral
name: Rafael Z Pinto, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
citation: Diniz LM, Oliveira CB, Machado GC, Maher CG, Verhagen AP, Fernandes DAM, Franco MR, Souza TR, Pinto RZ. Effectiveness of brief patient information materials for promoting correct beliefs about imaging and inevitable consequences of low back pain: A randomised controlled trial. Clin Rehabil. 2022 Apr;36(4):527-537. doi: 10.1177/02692155211065974. Epub 2021 Dec 21.
citation: Fernandes DAM, Freire APCF, Santos JM, Lemes IR, Diniz LM, FRANCO, MR, Ocarino JM, Pinto RZ. The Modified Back Beliefs Questionnaire as a tool to screen for incorrect beliefs regarding back pain: Cross-cultural adaptation and measurement properties. International Journal of Osteopathic Medicine. 2022; 44: 9-15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijosm.2022.04.001