Development and measurement properties of the AxEL (attitude toward education and advice for low-back-pain) questionnaire.

INTRODUCTION: Clinician time and resources may be underutilised if the treatment they offer does not match patient expectations and attitudes. We developed a questionnaire (AxEL-Q) to guide clinicians toward elements of first-line care that are pertinent to their patients with low back pain. METHODS: We used guidance from the COSMIN consortium to develop the questionnaire and evaluated it in a sample of people with low back pain of any duration. Participants were recruited from the community, were over 18 years and fluent in English. Statements that represented first-line care were identified. Semantic scales were used to measure attitude towards these statements. These items were combined to develop the questionnaire draft. Construct validity was evaluated with exploratory factor analysis and hypotheses testing, comparing to the Back Beliefs Questionnaire and modified Pain Self-Efficacy Questionnaire. Reliability was evaluated and floor and ceiling effects calculated. RESULTS: We recruited 345 participants, and had complete data for analysis for 313 participants. The questionnaire draft was reduced to a 3-Factor questionnaire through exploratory factor analysis. Factor 1 comprised 9 items and evaluated Attitude toward staying active, Factor 2 comprised 4 items and evaluated Attitude toward low back pain being rarely caused by a serious health problem, Factor 3 comprised 4 items and evaluated Attitude toward not needing to know the cause of back pain to manage it effectively. There was a strong inverse association between each factor and the Back Beliefs Questionnaire and a moderate positive association with the modified Pain Self-Efficacy Questionnaire. Each independent factor demonstrated acceptable internal consistency; Cronbach α Factor 1 = 0.92, Factor 2 = 0.91, Factor 3 = 0.90 and adequate interclass correlation coefficients; Factor 1 = 0.71, Factor 2 = 0.73, Factor 3 = 0.79. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates acceptable construct validity and reliability of the AxEL-Q, providing clinicians with an insight into the likelihood of patients following first-line care at the outset.

A conceptual framework for increasing clinical staff member involvement in general practice: a proposed strategy to improve the management of low back pain.

BACKGROUND: Low back pain affects about 80% of all adults, many of whom consult general practice. Providing management can be challenging, in part due to the scarcity of effective treatment methods. There is broad consensus in international clinical practice guidelines to provide patients with information about the nature of their pain and recommend them to stay active despite discomfort. Delivering this information is time-demanding and challenged by the limited available resources in general practice in many countries. Furthermore, general practice settings are highly variable in size and in their composition of clinical staff members - which presents difficulties, but also opportunities for developing alternative approaches to clinical management. Expanding the patient consultation time by involving clinical staff members (aside from the general practitioner) has been found feasible for other conditions. We propose that this approach is applied for non-specific low back pain. Consequently, we suggest the involvement of clinical staff members as part of a new strategy for managing low back pain in general practice. MAIN TEXT: Multifaceted implementation strategies have the potential to effectively enable change in the clinical management of patients with low back pain in general practice if they are based on theory and are tailored to stake holders. Inspired by the Medical Research Council's guidance for complex interventions and the ChiPP (Change in professional performance) statement, we suggest applying the following two policy categories: organizational change (environmental/social planning) and service provision. This will involve attention to environmental restructuring, modelling, enabling, education, training, persuasion, and incentivising of general practices, with an over-arching strategy of involving clinical staff members in the management of low back pain. CONCLUSION: This is a pre-clinical proposal of a multifaceted strategy to support the delivery of evidence-based treatment for patients with low back pain in general practice. As an original idea, we suggest it would be feasible to involve clinical staff members in the delivery of information and advice to patients, whilst the general practitioner remains responsible for diagnostic decision-making.

The reassuring potential of spinal imaging results: development and testing of a brief, psycho-education intervention for patients attending secondary care.

PURPOSE: To develop and test a standardised method of interpreting spinal imaging findings in a manner designed to reassure patients with low back pain and promote engagement in an active recovery. METHODS: A five-phase development and testing process involved collaborative working party contributions, informal and formal appraisal of the intervention content by clinicians and consumers, a two-stage online evaluation of the take-home patient resource, and onsite testing. RESULTS: A total of 12 health professionals and 77 consumers were included in formal evaluative processes at various stages of the development and testing process. Consumers assessed the revised iteration of the take-home resource to be clearer and easier to understand than the original version. We integrated all feedback and evaluation outcomes to develop the final intervention content, which was approved by experienced clinicians and considered safe. We devised a framework to guide delivery of the low-cost clinical intervention and a 10-15-min timeframe was demonstrated to be realistic. CONCLUSIONS: We have developed, modified, and tested a pragmatic framework for a brief, psychoeducational intervention. We have established face validity and acceptability from key stakeholders and engaged clinicians and are ready to proceed with a pilot feasibility trial.

Can screening instruments accurately determine poor outcome risk in adults with recent onset low back pain? A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Delivering efficient and effective healthcare is crucial for a condition as burdensome as low back pain (LBP). Stratified care strategies may be worthwhile, but rely on early and accurate patient screening using a valid and reliable instrument. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the performance of LBP screening instruments for determining risk of poor outcome in adults with LBP of less than 3 months duration. METHODS: Medline, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, PEDro, Web of Science, SciVerse SCOPUS, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched from June 2014 to March 2016. Prospective cohort studies involving patients with acute and subacute LBP were included. Studies administered a prognostic screening instrument at inception and reported outcomes at least 12 weeks after screening. Two independent reviewers extracted relevant data using a standardised spreadsheet. We defined poor outcome for pain to be ≥ 3 on an 11-point numeric rating scale and poor outcome for disability to be scores of ≥ 30% disabled (on the study authors' chosen disability outcome measure). RESULTS: We identified 18 eligible studies investigating seven instruments. Five studies investigated the STarT Back Tool: performance for discriminating pain outcomes at follow-up was 'non-informative' (pooled AUC = 0.59 (0.55-0.63), n = 1153) and 'acceptable' for discriminating disability outcomes (pooled AUC = 0.74 (0.66-0.82), n = 821). Seven studies investigated the Orebro Musculoskeletal Pain Screening Questionnaire: performance was 'poor' for discriminating pain outcomes (pooled AUC = 0.69 (0.62-0.76), n = 360), 'acceptable' for disability outcomes (pooled AUC = 0.75 (0.69-0.82), n = 512), and 'excellent' for absenteeism outcomes (pooled AUC = 0.83 (0.75-0.90), n = 243). Two studies investigated the Vermont Disability Prediction Questionnaire and four further instruments were investigated in single studies only. CONCLUSIONS: LBP screening instruments administered in primary care perform poorly at assigning higher risk scores to individuals who develop chronic pain than to those who do not. Risks of a poor disability outcome and prolonged absenteeism are likely to be estimated with greater accuracy. It is important that clinicians who use screening tools to obtain prognostic information consider the potential for misclassification of patient risk and its consequences for care decisions based on screening. However, it needs to be acknowledged that the outcomes on which we evaluated these screening instruments in some cases had a different threshold, outcome, and time period than those they were designed to predict. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO international prospective register of systematic reviews registration number CRD42015015778 .

Development of recommendations for a minimum dataset for Identifying Social factors that Stratify Health Opportunities and Outcomes (ISSHOOs) in pain research.

There is increasing recognition of the need for researchers to collect and report data that can illuminate health inequities. In pain research, routinely collecting equity-relevant data has the potential to inform about the generalisability of findings; whether the intervention has differential effects across strata of society; or it could be used to guide population targeting for clinical studies. Developing clarity and consensus on what data should be collected and how to collect it is required to prompt researchers to further consider equity issues in the planning, conduct, interpretation, and reporting of research. The overarching aim of the 'Identifying Social Factors that Stratify Health Opportunities and Outcomes' (ISSHOOs) in pain research project is to provide researchers in the pain field with recommendations to guide the routine collection of equity-relevant data. The design of this project is consistent with the methods outlined in the 'Guidance for Developers of Health Research Reporting Guidelines' and involves 4 stages: (i) Scoping review; (ii) Delphi Study; (iii) Consensus Meeting; and (iv) Focus Groups. This stakeholder-engaged project will produce a minimum dataset that has global, expert consensus. Results will be disseminated along with explanation and elaboration as a crucial step towards facilitating future action to address avoidable disparities in pain outcomes.

Codesign and Evaluation of Pain Science Messages on Social Media With Adolescents With a History of Chronic Pain.

Pain science education (PSE) is an important component of pediatric pain care; however, access to services is limited. To disseminate pain science concepts on social media, we partnered with adolescents with chronic pain to codesign content. We engaged 7 adolescent codesigners (aged 13-18 years) with lived experience of chronic pain to take part in 4 codesign workshops. Codesigners actively contributed to the social media campaign by selecting the social media platform, dictating design principles, generating metaphors and language, and recommending changes to mock designs. Codesigners suggested expanding the intended audience of the campaign to include people without a lived experience of chronic pain, such as friends, family, and teachers, alongside targeting adolescents with chronic pain. We published 30 posts and 102 stories over an 18-week period on Instagram, which reached over 40,000 individuals. We evaluated codesigners' experience, where they reported having clear communication and necessary supports and information to participate; were able to share their ideas and felt they were heard; and felt their input was making a difference. The outputs of this campaign could be useful to guide the tailoring of other PSE content delivered by clinicians as part of clinical care. Future testing of the content generated in this codesign process could evaluate if it leads to meaningful changes in the lives of people with chronic pain. PERSPECTIVE: Researchers partnered with adolescents with chronic pain to codesign content for a social media campaign on PSE. Adolescent codesigners actively shaped the campaign direction, broadening its scope to reach diverse audiences. Our Instagram initiative reached over 40,000 individuals, indicating the potential for innovative educational approaches.

Investigating self-report and neuropsychological assessments of cognitive flexibility in people with and without persistent pain: An online, cross-sectional, observational study.

Introduction: People with persistent pain experience problems modifying their cognition and behaviours when task or environmental demands change - abilities otherwise known as cognitive flexibility. However, limitations and inconsistent results of previous studies raise concerns over the quality of that evidence. We aimed to determine whether people with and without persistent pain differ on two assessments that are commonly used to assess cognitive flexibility. We also examined the relationship between the two assessments and explored whether people with and without persistent pain are distinguishable based on their scores on these assessments. Methods: Participant demographics and symptoms of anxiety and depression were assessed. Participants completed the Cognitive Flexibility Inventory (CFI) and the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST). Multiple linear regression on the two outcome variables: CFI (total score) and WCST (% perseverative responses) was applied using backward stepwise selection. Both outcomes were calculated as a standardised proportion of the outcome scale and log-odds transformed to meet the model assumptions. Correlation analysis and logistic regression were used to investigate our secondary and exploratory aims. Results: Data were available from 128 participants with persistent pain and 68 pain-free controls. After adjusting for covariates, no differences were found between people with and without persistent pain on either assessment of cognitive flexibility. No significant correlations were detected between the two assessments in either group. The probability of having persistent pain was also not associated with scores on either or both assessments. Conclusion: 'Cognitive flexibility' appears similar in people with and without persistent pain.

We Are All in This Together-Whole of Community Pain Science Education Campaigns to Promote Better Management of Persistent Pain.

Persistent pain is a major public health issue-estimated to affect a quarter of the world's population. Public understanding of persistent pain is based on outdated biomedical models, laden with misconceptions that are contrary to best evidence. This understanding is a barrier to effective pain management. Thus, there have been calls for public health-based interventions to address these misconceptions. Previous pain-focussed public education campaigns have targeted pain beliefs and behaviours that are thought to promote recovery, such as staying active. However, prevailing pain-related misconceptions render many of these approaches counter-intuitive, at best. Pain Science Education improves understanding of 'how pain works' and has been demonstrated to improve pain and disability outcomes. Extending Pain Science Education beyond the clinic to the wider community seems warranted. Learning from previous back pain-focussed and other public health educational campaigns could optimise the potential benefit of such a Pain Science Education campaign. Pain Science Education-grounded campaigns have been delivered in Australia and the UK and show promise, but robust evaluations are needed before any firm conclusions on their population impact can be made. Several challenges exist going forward. Not least is the need to ensure all stakeholders are involved in the development and implementation of Pain Science Education public messaging campaigns. Furthermore, it is crucial that campaigns are undertaken through a health equity lens, incorporating underrepresented communities to ensure that any intervention does not widen existing health inequalities associated with persistent pain. PERSPECTIVE: Public misconceptions about pain are a significant public health challenge and a viable intervention target to reduce the personal, social, and economic burden of persistent pain. Adaptation of Pain Science Education, which improves misconceptions in a clinical setting, into the public health setting seems a promising approach to explore.

Pain and pain management experiences following spinal cord injury - a mixed methods study of Australian community-dwelling adults.

PURPOSE: There is a high prevalence of persistent pain following SCI yet insights into its impact and the quality of pain care are limited. We aimed to explore, in-depth, the problem of persistent pain in Australian community-dwelling adults with a spinal cord injury (SCI). Our objectives were to investigate (i) how individuals experience persistent pain, (ii) how they experience pain care and (iii) the concordance between clinical practice guidelines for managing pain and reported care practices. METHODS: We conducted a mixed-methods convergent parallel study. Adults with SCI and persistent pain completed a survey (n = 43); a subset of participants completed interviews (n = 10). We analysed the data from each method separately and then integrated the findings. RESULTS: Results indicated that the life impact of persistent pain is variable but it can be more disabling than physical impairments and compound a sense of isolation and despair. Community-based management was reported to predominantly have a pharmacological focus, with occurrences of opioid misuse apparent in the data. Access to expert, comprehensive and individualised care was frequently reported as inadequate. CONCLUSION: While some people with SCI and persistent pain can effectively self-manage their pain, for others the impact on quality of life is profound and complex care needs are commonly unmet.IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATIONPersistent pain is a common consequence of SCI and profoundly impacts quality of life.Complex pain care needs are commonly unmet.Individuals require regular, comprehensive, biopsychosocial assessment.The effectiveness of pain management strategies must be monitored on an ongoing basis.Opportunities for personal self-management support must be available long-term.

Best practice care for persistent pain in adults with spinal cord injuries: a systematic review and narrative synthesis of clinical practice guideline recommendations.

PURPOSE: To review clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) and recent literature to identify common recommendations guiding "best practice" pain care for adults with spinal cord injury (SCI). METHODS: We searched four scientific databases and four guideline repositories from January 2010 to February 2022 for CPGs relating to the management of pain following SCI. We excluded guidelines that related to a single treatment modality, complementary medicines, specific disease processes, and guidelines that were not freely available. RESULTS: We identified 1373 records from which 11 met all eligibility criteria. Seven were classified as "tier 1" and were used to generate 46 care components related to neuropathic pain management. We organised these into three themes: screening and assessment, principles of evaluation and management, and management recommendations; and seven subthemes: screening, assessment and diagnosis, addressing complex care needs, ongoing evaluation, management - interventional, management - pharmacological, and management - non-pharmacological. Four CPGs were classified as "tier 2" and were used to provide supporting evidence. We identified 12 recommendations related to the management of nociceptive pain. CONCLUSIONS: This synthesis of recommendations can guide consumers, clinicians, researchers, and policy makers to inform understanding and clinical implementation of evidence-based "best practice" management of pain in adults with SCI.Implications for rehabilitationPersistent pain is a frequent problem for individuals following spinal cord injury and its effective management is challenging for clinicians.High-quality clinical practice guidelines that are up-to-date and readily accessible have the potential to enhance care quality and outcomes.This synthesis of 58 key care recommendations can guide consumers, clinicians, researchers, and policy makers towards improving pain care for adults with spinal cord injuries.

The 'what' and 'how' of screening for social needs in healthcare settings: a scoping review.

Background: Adverse social determinants of health give rise to individual-level social needs that have the potential to negatively impact health. Screening patients to identify unmet social needs is becoming more widespread. A review of the content of currently available screening tools is warranted. The aim of this scoping review was to determine what social needs categories are included in published Social Needs Screening Tools that have been developed for use in primary care settings, and how these social needs are screened. Methods: We pre-registered the study on the Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/dqan2/). We searched MEDLINE and Embase from 01/01/2010 to 3/05/2022 to identify eligible studies reporting tools designed for use in primary healthcare settings. Two reviewers independently screened studies, a single reviewer extracted data. We summarised the characteristics of included studies descriptively and calculated the number of studies that collected data relevant to specific social needs categories. We identified sub-categories to classify the types of questions relevant to each of the main categories. Results: We identified 420 unique citations, and 27 were included. Nine additional studies were retrieved by searching for tools that were used or referred to in excluded studies. Questions relating to food insecurity and the physical environment in which a person lives were the most frequently included items (92-94% of tools), followed by questions relating to economic stability and aspects of social and community context (81%). Seventy-five percent of the screening tools included items that evaluated five or more social needs categories (mean 6.5; standard deviation 1.75). One study reported that the tool had been 'validated'; 16 reported 'partial' validation; 12 reported that the tool was 'not validated' and seven studies did not report validation processes or outcomes.

Using PROGRESS-plus to identify current approaches to the collection and reporting of equity-relevant data: a scoping review.

OBJECTIVES: Our objectives were to identify what and how data relating to the social determinants of health are collected and reported in equity-relevant studies and map these data to the PROGRESS-Plus framework. STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: We performed a scoping review. We ran two systematic searches of MEDLINE and Embase for equity-relevant studies published during 2021. We included studies in any language without limitations to participant characteristics. Included studies were required to have collected and reported at least two participant variables relevant to evaluating individual-level social determinants of health. We applied the PROGRESS-Plus framework to identify and organize these data. RESULTS: We extracted data from 200 equity-relevant studies, providing 962 items defined by PROGRESS-Plus. A median of 4 (interquartile range = 2) PROGRESS-Plus items were reported in the included studies. 92% of studies reported age; 78% reported sex/gender; 65% reported educational attainment; 49% reported socioeconomic status; 45% reported race; 44% reported social capital; 33% reported occupation; 14% reported place and 9% reported religion. CONCLUSION: Our synthesis demonstrated that researchers currently collect a limited range of equity-relevant data, but usefully provides a range of examples spanning PROGRESS-Plus to inform the development of improved, standardized practices.

Exploring the Social Determinants of Health Outcomes for Adults with Low Back Pain or Spinal Cord Injury and Persistent Pain: A Mixed Methods Study.

Developing a greater understanding of the social and environmental factors that are related to differential outcomes for individuals who experience persistent pain and disability is important for achieving health equity. In this study, we aimed to develop insights into the role of the social determinants of health (SDH) in care experiences and health status for socio-economically disadvantaged adults who experience persistent low back pain or persistent pain following spinal cord injury. Our objectives were to investigate 1) relationships between the SDH and health outcomes, 2) care experiences, and 3) perceived barriers and facilitators to optimal pain care. We conducted a mixed-methods convergent parallel study involving an online survey and semistructured interviews. We analyzed the data from each method separately and integrated the findings. One hundred sixty-four adults completed the survey and 17 adults completed the semistructured interviews. We found large or moderate-sized correlations between greater selfreported social isolation and poorer health outcomes. Experiencing a higher number of adverse SDH was moderately correlated with lower quality of life and was significantly correlated with all other outcomes. We generated 5 themes from the qualitative analysis: active strategies are important for well-being; low agency; facilitators of optimal care; barriers to optimal care; and health inequities, and derived meta-inferences that highlight the complex inter-relationships between the SDH and health outcomes in this cohort. The findings of our study can importantly inform endeavors to improve equity of pain care for adults with low back pain or spinal cord injury and persistent pain. PERSPECTIVE: This study illustrates the complex interplay between adverse social determinants of health and poorer health status for adults with persistent pain and provides evidence to support the important role of social isolation. Developing an understanding of the life-contexts of those seeking care is a vital step towards addressing health inequities.

The role of the social determinants of health in outcomes of surgery for low back pain: a systematic review and narrative synthesis.

BACKGROUND CONTEXT: Low back pain is a major cause of morbidity and disability worldwide and is responsible for vast societal impact. Rates of surgical intervention for lumbar spine disorders continue to rise but poor outcomes remain common. Understanding how the social determinants of health (SDH) influence spinal surgical outcomes stands to inform appropriately tailored care practices and lead to better patient outcomes. PURPOSE: To determine the relationships between the SDH and pain, opioid use, disability and work absenteeism following lumbar spine surgery. STUDY DESIGN: Systematic review and narrative synthesis. METHODS: We searched Embase, the Cochrane Library, Medline, and Web of Science from inception to April 21, 2020. Studies eligible for inclusion involved participants receiving lumbar spine surgery and investigated the relationship between at least one SDH and post-surgical pain, opioid use, disability or work absenteeism. We evaluated the risk of bias of included studies and used the PROGRESS-Plus framework to organize a narrative synthesis of findings. RESULTS: Relevant data was extracted from twenty-three studies involving 30,987 adults from 12 countries. A total of 107 relationships between the SDH and post-surgical outcomes were evaluated, 67 in multivariate analyses. Education was investigated in 23 analyses (14 studies): 70% revealed significant independent relationships between lower education and poorer outcomes. Socioeconomic status was investigated in nine analyses (four studies): 67% revealed independent relationships between lower socioeconomic status and poorer outcomes. Gender was investigated in 40 analyses (22 studies): indications that male versus female sex was associated with poorer outcomes were equivocal. Place of residence, race/ethnicity, and social capital were infrequently investigated. CONCLUSIONS: Low educational attainment and low-income status are clear independent contributors to poorer outcomes following lumbar spine surgery. Occupational factors and work context are likely to be influential. Further research is critical to guide best-practice spinal surgery through a health equity lens. STUDY REGISTRATION: PROSPERO registration number CRD42015015778.

Back to the drawing board-The relationship between self-report and neuropsychological tests of cognitive flexibility in clinical cohorts: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: Cognitive flexibility has been previously described as the ability to adjust cognitive and behavioral strategies in response to changing contextual demands. Cognitive flexibility is typically assessed via self-report questionnaires and performance on neuropsychological tests in research and clinical practice. A common assumption among researchers and clinicians is that self-report and neuropsychological tests of cognitive flexibility assess the same or similar constructs, but the extent of the relationship between these two assessment approaches in clinical cohorts remains unknown. We undertook a systematic review and meta-analysis to determine the relationship between self-report and neuropsychological tests of cognitive flexibility in clinical samples. METHOD: We searched 10 databases and relevant gray literature (e.g., other databases and pearling) from inception to October 2020 and used the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses reporting guidelines. Eleven articles including 405 participants satisfied our eligibility criteria. RESULTS: A multilevel random-effects meta-analysis revealed no relationship between self-report and neuropsychological tests of cognitive flexibility (0.01, 95% CI [-0.16 to 0.18]). Individual random-effects meta-analyses between 12 different tests pairs also found no relationship. CONCLUSION: Based on our results, it is clear that the two assessment approaches of cognitive flexibility provide independent information-they do not assess the same construct. These findings have important ramifications for future research and clinical practice-there is a need to reconsider what constructs self-report and neuropsychological tests of "cognitive flexibility" actually assess, and avoid the interchangeable use of these assessments in clinical samples. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Key Learning Statements for Persistent Pain Education: An Iterative Analysis of Consumer, Clinician and Researcher Perspectives and Development of Public Messaging.

Over the last decade, the content, delivery and media of pain education have been adjusted in line with scientific discovery in pain and educational sciences, and in line with consumer perspectives. This paper describes a decade-long process of exploring consumer perspectives on pain science education concepts to inform clinician-derived educational updates (undertaken by the authors). Data were collected as part of a quality audit via a series of online surveys in which consent (non-specific) was obtained from consumers for their data to be used in published research. Consumers who presented for care for a persistent pain condition and were treated with a pain science education informed approach were invited to provide anonymous feedback about their current health status and pain journey experience 6, 12 or 18 months after initial assessment. Two-hundred eighteen consumers reported improvement in health status at follow-up. Results of the surveys from 3 cohorts of consumers that reported improvement were used to generate iterative versions of 'Key Learning Statements'. Early iteration of these Key Learning Statements was used to inform the development of Target Concepts and associated community-targeted pain education resources for use in public health and health professional workforce capacity building initiatives. PERSPECTIVE: This paper reflects an explicit interest in the insights of people who have been challenged by persistent pain and then recovered, to improve pain care. Identifying pain science concepts that consumers valued learning provided valuable information to inform resources for clinical interactions and community-targeted pain education campaigns.

Same room - different windows? A systematic review and meta-analysis of the relationship between self-report and neuropsychological tests of cognitive flexibility in healthy adults.

Cognitive flexibility can be thought of as the ability to effectively adapt one's cognitive and behavioural strategies in response to changing task or environmental demands. To substantiate the common inference that self-report and neuropsychological tests of cognitive flexibility provide 'different windows into the same room', we undertook a systematic review and meta-analysis to determine whether self-report and neuropsychological tests of cognitive flexibility are related in healthy adults. Ten databases and relevant grey literature were searched from inception. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines were adhered to. Twenty-one articles satisfied our inclusion criteria. A multi-level random-effects meta-analysis revealed no relationship (0.05, 95% CI = -0.00 to 0.10). Random-effects meta-analyses raised the possibility that the Cognitive Flexibility Scale and the Trail Making Test - part B (time) may be related (0.19, 95% CI = 0.06 to 0.31). We conclude that the relationship between self-report and neuropsychological tests of cognitive flexibility is not large enough to be considered convincing evidence for the two assessment approaches sharing construct validity. These results have clear implications for assessing and interpreting cognitive flexibility research and clinical practice.

Low back pain and the social determinants of health: a systematic review and narrative synthesis.

The social determinants of health (SDH) are known to differentially impact outcomes from many noncommunicable diseases; however, their potential role in low back pain (LBP) is poorly defined. This review endeavours to comprehensively inform the field of their relevance. Our research question was: "How do the broad range of SDH and chronic LBP (CLBP) relate?" The primary aim of this review was to synthesise evidence of relationships between SDH and the frequency or severity of CLBP. Secondary aims were to identify relationships between SDH and LBP-related disability, work absenteeism, and opioid prescription. We included studies involving adult participants that evaluated relationships between one or more of the SDH and CLBP frequency or LBP outcomes (beyond 3 months). Two reviewers screened studies, extracted data, and assessed risk of bias. We synthesized the results narratively and applied PROGRESS to organise our findings. Database searches identified 7018 records. Forty-one studies were included, containing data from 2,161,617 adults from 17 countries. Twenty-four percent and 19% of the relationships included were classified as having a high risk of bias due to confounding and missing data, respectively. We reported 166 relationships representing the majority of the PROGRESS domains. An array of independent and interdependent relationships between the SDH and CLBP were identified with the strongest evidence for associations related to educational attainment and socioeconomic status. Our findings suggest that greater recognition of the contribution of SDH to disparities in LBP outcomes is warranted and this has the potential to usefully inform strategies to impact burden.

Implementing high value back pain care in private physiotherapy in Australia: A qualitative evaluation of physiotherapists who participated in an "implementation to innovation" system.

Objectives: Many barriers exist to delivering high-value care for people with low back pain (LBP). We have developed a multistrategy implementation system to overcome these barriers. Here we describe a qualitative evaluation of the experiences of private-sector physiotherapists implementing the system. Design: PRISM (Practice-based innovation and implementation system) is an iterative clinician-as-scientist implementation program, tailored here for acute and subacute LBP. PRISM integrates strategies from behavioral change, implementation, and educational science fields. Semistructured interviews, group discussion forums, and electronic questionnaires were used to collect data at multiple time points that were then analyzed using an interpretative descriptive approach. Participants: Six physiotherapists (purposive sample) practicing in private practice physiotherapy clinics in the Adelaide region, South Australia, were enrolled in the study. Interventions: Interventions included an educational pain science and care workshop incorporating self-regulated learning principles, a co-planned clinical pathway, an electronic decision support tool, development and support of a community of practice, case study simulations, audit and feedback, and collaborative problem solving and innovation for physiotherapists. Results: Participants' experiences and perceptions centered around five themes: (1) knowledge and skills training; (2) networking and mentoring; (3) a clear clinical pathway; (4) practical tools; and (5) data feedback. Participants appraised the implementation process positively but identified patient receptiveness as a challenge at times. Suggestions for improvement included streamlining/automating data collection forms and processes and providing more simulation opportunities. Conclusions: PRISM appears to be a promising approach to overcoming several barriers that prevent people with back pain from receiving high-value care. It consolidates and increases pain science knowledge and increases physiotherapist confidence in delivering high-value care. It appears to legitimize some current practices, enhance clinical reasoning and communication skills, extend knowledge in line with contemporary pain science, and facilitate the application of a biopsychosocial management approach. The high-level acceptance by participants provides a foundation for further research to test outcomes and delivery in different settings. Contribution of the article A quality improvement intervention designed to improve delivery of high-value care was well received by private practice physiotherapists.Physiotherapists particularly valued using experiential learning to improve fluency in communicating with, and educating patients about, contemporary pain science.A structured clinical pathway and tools guided physiotherapists on the basic elements of necessary care and allowed them to concentrate on higher levels of decision making and communication with patients.

Objectifs: Il existe de nombreux obstacles à la prestation de soins de grande valeur aux personnes souffrant de lombalgies. Nous avons développé un système de mise en œuvre multi-stratégies pour surmonter ces obstacles. Nous décrivons ici une évaluation qualitative de l'expérience des physiothérapeutes du secteur privé dans le cadre de ce système.Devis: PRISM (Practice-based Innovation & Implementation System) est un programme itératif de mise en œuvre par les cliniciens en tant que scientifiques, adapté à la lombalgie aigüe et subaigüe. PRISM intègre des stratégies issues des domaines du changement de comportement, de la mise en œuvre et des sciences de l'éducation. Des entretiens semi-structurés, des forums de discussion de groupe et des questionnaires électroniques ont été utilisés pour collecter des données à plusieurs moments et analysés selon une approche descriptive interprétative.Contexte: Cliniques de physiothérapie en cabinet privé.Participants: Six physiothérapeutes (échantillon ciblé) de la région d'Adélaïde, en Australie méridionale.Interventions: Un atelier de formation portant sur la science et les soins de la douleur intégrant des principes d'apprentissage autonome, un parcours clinique coplanifié, un outil électronique d'aide à la décision, l'établissement et le soutien d'une communauté de pratique, des simulations d'études de cas, l'évaluation et la rétroaction, ainsi que la résolution collaborative de problèmes et l'innovation pour les physiothérapeutes.Résultats: Les expériences et les perceptions des participants se sont articulées autour de cinq thèmes : (1) l'acquisition de connaissances et de compétences ; (2) la mise en réseau et le mentorat ; (3) un parcours clinique clair ; (4) des outils pratiques ; et (5) la rétroaction. Les participants ont évalué positivement le processus de mise en œuvre, bien qu'ils aient déclaré que la réceptivité des patients constituait parfois un défi. Parmi les suggestions d'amélioration, citons la rationalisation et l'automatisation des formulaires et processus de collecte de données et l'augmentation des possibilités de simulation.Conclusions: PRISM semble être une approche prometteuse pour surmonter plusieurs obstacles qui empêchent les personnes souffrant de maux de dos de recevoir des soins de haute valeur. Il consolide et augmente les connaissances en matière de science de la douleur et renforce la confiance des physiothérapeutes dans leur capacité de fournir des soins de grande valeur. Le programme a semblé légitimer certaines pratiques actuelles, améliorer le raisonnement clinique et les compétences en matière de communication, étendre les connaissances conformément à la science contemporaine de la douleur et faciliter l'application d'une approche de gestion biopsychosociale. Son haut niveau d'acceptation par les participants constitue une base pour la poursuite des recherches visant à tester les résultats et la prestation des soins dans différents contextes.Contribution de l'article: Une intervention d'amélioration de la qualité conçue pour améliorer la prestation de soins de haute valeur a été bien accueillie par les physiothérapeutes en cabinet privé.Les physiothérapeutes ont particulièrement apprécié l'utilisation de l'apprentissage par l'expérience pour améliorer la fluidité de la communication avec les patients et les informer sur la science contemporaine de la douleur.Un cheminement clinique structuré accompagné d'outils a guidé les physiothérapeutes en ce qui concerne les éléments de base des soins nécessaires et leur ont permis de se concentrer sur les niveaux supérieurs de prise de décision et de communication avec les patients.