Study protocol for a feasibility study of an online educational programme for people working and living with persistent low back pain

Joanne Marley, Caroline Larsson, Flavia Piccinini, Sarah Howes, Elisa Casoni, Eva Ekvall Hansson, Suzanne McDonough

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Abstract

Background: Low back pain (LBP) is the main cause of activity limitation and work absence across the world, leading to a high social and economic burden for individuals, families, the labour market and society. The overall aim of this multicentre study is to test the usability, acceptability and feasibility of an evidence-based, digital education programme for people living and working with persistent LBP who are in sedentary or physically demanding jobs and need advice on ergonomics, self-management of pain and healthy behavioural strategies. Methods: This is the protocol of a multinational, multicentre, prospective uncontrolled feasibility study targeting people with persistent LBP in Lithuania, Northern Ireland, Italy, Sweden and Portugal. Eligible participants will be offered the opportunity to use the MyRelief educational platform as part of their care and will undergo evaluations at baseline (enrollment) and 1-month follow-up. Feasibility will be assessed using measures of recruitment and retention, intervention engagement, outcome measure completion rates and within-group effect sizes in response to the digital education programme. Discussion: This study will identify the challenges and implications of delivering a digital training programme in advance of potentially delivering the programme via an online educational platform available on mobile devices. The findings will inform the design of a future randomised controlled trial if it proves feasible. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04673773. Registered 17 December 2020.
Original languageEnglish
Article number154
Pages (from-to)1-7
Number of pages8
JournalPilot and Feasibility Studies
Volume9
Issue number1
Early online date4 Sept 2023
DOIs
Publication statusPublished online - 4 Sept 2023

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The authors wish to acknowledge Carlos Carvalho, Virtual Campus, PT and Vincenzo Aschettino, Tech4Care and IT for their dedicated work of developing the MyRelief MOOC.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023, BioMed Central Ltd., part of Springer Nature.

Keywords

  • Web intervention
  • Self-management
  • Digital education programme
  • MOOC
  • Back pain

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