Back Beliefs Among the General Population

Effects of a Short Educational Video on Back Beliefs Among the General Population

In the current study we aim to evaluate the effects of a short educational video on improving the belief that "the back is fragile and needs to be protected" among the German speaking Swiss general population. We hypothesize that a short video education program can positively change the assessed back belief among the German speaking general population of Switzerland.

To evaluate the outcomes, we will use the 10-item version of the Back Pain Attitude Questionnaire (Back-PAQ). The primary outcome is the second question of the Back-PAQ-10 ("You could injure your back if you are not careful"). The secondary outcome of this study is the total score of the Back-PAQ-10.

The design of the present study is a two-group randomized controlled trial, with one intervention and one control group in a 1:1 allocation.

Study Overview

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Conditions: Low Back Pain
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Interventional video; Other: Control video

Detailed Description

This study will be conducted in collaboration with HESAV (Haute Ecole de Sante Vaud). The research group at the HESAV has developed an educational website in 2020, called "www.infomaldedos.ch". The website aims to educate people on low back pain, and common unhelpful beliefs about the back - primarily targeting the belief about the fragility of the back and the need for its protection - are addressed. In the current study we are going to translate the above-mentioned website to the German language. Furthermore, we are going to assess the quality and applicability of a short video intervention among the general population, using one of the videos from the website.

Participants will be recruited through social media and emails. A link will be created to the questionnaire and the educational video with LimeSurvey. A 'randomizer' built-in function will be used to blindly split people into intervention or control group. The link will be spread on social media platforms and through email. To induce a snowball sampling method, all participants will be asked to send the link further.

The length of the video intervention is 3 minutes. In the video, health care professionals, such as a psychologist, a medical doctor, a professor, and physiotherapist interviewed by a scientist explains the burden of LBP, how unhelpful beliefs affect treatment outcome, difficulties in the management of LBP and the optimal way of treating LBP. The scientist then inquires a representative patient about their own experiences of the management of LBP. At the end of the video the scientist encourages people to exercise despite LBP by performing various movements.

The control group will receive a neutral video about the back, selected from YouTube.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 200
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Stefan Schmid, PhD; Phone Number: +41 31 848 45 41; Email: stefan.schmid@bfh.ch

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age >18 years

Exclusion Criteria:

• Professionals and students with prior knowledge on the topic of interest such as physiotherapists, osteopaths, and chiropractors.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Other
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Triple

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Interventional Educational video on back beliefs; Participants receive an educational video on back beliefs and its contributing factors.	Other: Interventional video; The educational video comprises of health care professionals explaining the durability of the back against the popular belief that the back is fragile and the multifactorial nature of back pain.
Experimental: Control Video Education; Participants receive a neutral video about the back (e.g. anatomy of the back).	Other: Control video; The control video is a neutral video with no content addressing back beliefs (fragility and need for protection).

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Sentiments about back vulnerability	The primary outcome is the second question of the Back-PAQ-10 ("You could injure your back if you are not careful")	One minute

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Total Back-PAQ-10 score	The secondary outcome of this study is the total score of the German version of the Back-PAQ-10.	Three minutes

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Bern University of Applied Sciences
• Collaborators: Haute Ecole de Santé Vaud
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Stefan Schmid, PhD, Bern UAS

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): November 1, 2023
• Primary Completion (Estimated): January 31, 2024
• Study Completion (Estimated): May 19, 2024

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: October 16, 2023
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 26, 2023
• First Posted (Actual): October 27, 2023

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): October 27, 2023
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 26, 2023
• Last Verified: October 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: education; nonspecific low back pain; back beliefs
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Pain; Neurologic Manifestations; Back Pain; Low Back Pain
• Other Study ID Numbers: BernUASBackBeliefs

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No