Collaborative Care for Older Adults With Back Pain (COCOA) (COCOA)

March 8, 2021 updated by: Palmer College of Chiropractic

Co-Management of Older Adults With Low Back Pain by Medical Physicians and Doctors of Chiropractic

The purpose of the Collaborative Care for Older Adults with Back Pain (COCOA) Clinical Trial is to evaluate the clinical effectiveness and feasibility of a collaborative care model (medical and chiropractic care) through a pragmatic, prospective pilot trial conducted with 120 older adults over the age of 65 with low back pain of at least 1 month duration.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

As America ages, cost-effective care for chronic diseases, such as low back pain, becomes more important. Although estimates vary, 70-85% of Americans will suffer from back pain at some point in their lives. Back pain is well established as one of the most common reasons for seeking care from a medical doctor. The American public also turns to alternative medicine providers, such as doctors of chiropractic, for back pain care. However, few clinical examples and little scientific evidence exist of care coordination between these two provider groups in general, and none that specifically target older adults above the age of 65. The purpose of the Collaborative Care for Older Adults with Back Pain (COCOA) Clinical Trial is to evaluate the clinical effectiveness and feasibility of a collaborative care model (medical and chiropractic care) through a pragmatic, prospective pilot trial conducted with 120 older adults over the age of 65 with low back pain of at least 1 month duration. Participants will be randomized to 3-parallel treatment arms: a) conventional medical care (MED CARE), b) unlinked conventional medical and chiropractic care (DUAL CARE), and c) a co-management model including conventional medical and chiropractic care (SHARED CARE). Participants in all three groups will receive up to 12 weeks of usual back pain treatment from medical doctors or doctors of osteopathy (MD/DO) at Genesis Family Medical Center. Participants in two treatment groups additionally will receive up to 12 weeks of usual chiropractic care for back pain from doctors of chiropractic at the Palmer Research Clinic. Outcomes including pain, disability and secondary outcomes will be measured at 1, 2, and 3 months (primary endpoint) with follow-up assessments completed by telephone at 6, 9, and 12 months.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

131

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Iowa
      • Davenport, Iowa, United States, 52803
        • Genesis Family Medical Center
      • Davenport, Iowa, United States, 52803
        • Palmer College of Chiropractic

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

65 years and older (OLDER_ADULT)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age 65 years or older
  • Low back pain ≥4 on the 11-point Numerical Rating Scale
  • Low back pain diagnosis consistent with Quebec Task Force (QTF) Classifications 1-9
  • Ambulatory mobility status per successful completion of the Timed Up & Go Test
  • Willingness to participate in this clinical trial regardless of treatment group assignment

Exclusion Criteria:

  • No history or current episode of low back pain
  • Low back pain duration of less than 1 month
  • Low back pain diagnosis consistent with Quebec Task Force Classification of 10 or 11
  • Any healthcare provider treatment for low back pain in past 2 months
  • Currently seeking or receiving compensation for a work-related injury or personal injury case for low back pain
  • Currently seeking or applying for disability payments for any health condition
  • Spine or neck surgery in the past 3 months
  • Broken bone in any location in the body in the past 6 weeks
  • Active carcinoma/metastatic disease or current treatment for any form of cancer
  • Aortic aneurysm (or suspicion of) >5cm
  • Serious concomitant illness or co-morbidity
  • Alcohol or drug abuse or dependence
  • Need for laboratory testing, diagnostic imaging beyond plain film x-rays or referral to a healthcare provider not associated with the study to determine a diagnosis or for necessary treatment
  • Activities of daily living (ADL), mobility impairment or sensory impairment that impacts safety
  • Cognitive or memory impairment
  • Compliance concerns
  • Nursing home residence
  • No reliable transportation
  • Plans to move from Quad-Cities in the next 4 months
  • Pregnancy or plans to become pregnant in next 4 months in a female participant
  • Enrollment in this study by another individual who currently lives in the same household as the participant
  • Inability to speak (verbally comprehend), read or write in English language
  • Unwillingness to avoid all forms of low back pain treatment from non-study medical doctors and chiropractors during study participation
  • Unwillingness to enroll in clinical trial regardless of treatment group assignment
  • Unwillingness to sign informed consent document
  • Current student, employee or faculty member of the Palmer College of Chiropractic or Genesis Family Medical Center

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: TREATMENT
  • Allocation: RANDOMIZED
  • Interventional Model: PARALLEL
  • Masking: SINGLE

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
ACTIVE_COMPARATOR: Medical Care
Conventional medical care alone
Other: Medical Care
Participants allocated to all three treatment groups receive medical care over a 12-week period. Medical treatments are standard therapies for back pain. Medical and osteopathic physicians follow clinical practice guideline recommendations for back pain: focused history and physical exam; limited diagnostic imaging; self-management education; maintaining physical activity as tolerated and local heat/cold application; pharmacotherapy with analgesics and anti-inflammatory agents. Participants not responding to treatment may receive additional therapies such as physical therapy or specialist referral.
Other Names:
  • Standard Medical Therapies for Back Pain
ACTIVE_COMPARATOR: Dual Care
Unlinked co-occurrence of conventional medical care and chiropractic care
Other: Dual Care
Participants allocated to Dual Care receive medical care as described plus chiropractic care over a 12-week period. Chiropractic care includes standard therapies for back pain. A doctor of chiropractic determines the therapeutic approach based upon a participant's clinical presentation. Treatments may include spinal or extremity joint manipulation, such as: high velocity-low amplitude or low velocity-variable amplitude maneuvers; mechanical device assisted adjustments; or passive mobilization. Recommendations for exercise, lifestyle modifications, or other therapies may be provided.
Other Names:
  • Medical Care Plus Chiropractic Care
ACTIVE_COMPARATOR: Shared Care
Co-management of medical care and chiropractic care
Other: Shared Care
Participants allocated to Shared Care receive co-managed medical care from a medical or osteopathic doctor and chiropractic care from a doctor of chiropractic over a 12-week period. The medical and chiropractic treatments are standard therapies for back pain, as described under Medical Care and Dual Care.
Other Names:
  • Co-managed Medical Care and Chiropractic Care

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change From Baseline in Patient-Rated Low Back Pain (LBP), an 11 Point Numerical Rating Scale (NRS)
Time Frame: Baseline and 3 months
Adjusted mean changes in patient-rated LBP from baseline to week 12 were assessed. Average and worst LBP were rated on an 11 Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) point scale (0, no LBP; 10 worst LBP possible)
Baseline and 3 months
Change From Baseline in Patient-Rated Disability, the 24-item Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ)
Time Frame: Baseline and 3 months
Adjusted mean changes in patient-rated disability from baseline to week 12 were assessed using the 24-item RMDQ where 0 indicated no disability and 24 indicated severe disability.
Baseline and 3 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Veterans-RAND 36-item Short-Form Health Survey (VR-36)
Time Frame: Baseline and 3 months
Physical function and Emotional Well-being (range 0-100). Higher scores indicate a better outcome.
Baseline and 3 months
Change From Baseline in Bothersomeness of Low Back Pain Symptoms
Time Frame: Baseline to 3 months
Adjusted mean changes in patient-reported LBP bothersomeness on a 5 point scale index (1, not at all bothered; 5, extremely bothered) from baseline to week 12 were assessed.
Baseline to 3 months
Patient Satisfaction With Care
Time Frame: 3 months
Percent of participants reporting levels of satisfaction for the information received regarding the cause of low back pain [LBP] (A), prognosis of LBP (B) and activities that hasten recovery (C), concern of MDs and Doctor of Chiropractic (DCs) during treatments (D), the quality of the treatment recommendations(E) and the overall care for LBP (F)
3 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Palmer College of Chiropractic

Collaborators

University of Iowa
Thomas Jefferson University
Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)
Genesis Family Medical Center

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Helpful Links

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

March 1, 2011

Primary Completion (ACTUAL)

November 1, 2012

Study Completion (ACTUAL)

March 1, 2013

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

March 4, 2011

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 8, 2011

First Posted (ESTIMATE)

March 10, 2011

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (ACTUAL)

March 30, 2021

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 8, 2021

Last Verified

March 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 5R18HP15126-02

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

Feasibility/pilot study

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

Clinical Trials on Low Back Pain

Clinical Trials on Medical Care

Search Similar Trials

Sponsors and Collaborators

Medical Conditions

Drug Interventions

CROs by country

CROs in Singapore

Conditions

Rare Diseases

Drug Interventions

Dietary Supplements

Sponsor/Collaborators

Locations

3
Subscribe