Which patients do not seek additional medical care after a self-management class for low back pain? An observational cohort.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: (1) To identify baseline variables associated with patients that sought no additional care during the 12 months following a single self-management education session for low back pain (LBP), and (2) in those who sought care, to determine whether the same variables were associated with low versus high downstream LBP-related healthcare utilization. DESIGN: An observational cohort. SETTING: Single large military hospital. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 733 patients with LBP. INTERVENTION Single self-management education session. MAIN OUTCOMES: Eleven variables were explored in two distinct logistic regression models (1) no additional care versus additional care, and (2) low versus high number of additional visits in the additional care group. RESULTS: In the first model, not being on active duty service (odds ratio (OR) = 1.98, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.37-2.86), low baseline disability (OR = 1.02, 95% CI = 1.00-1.04), low baseline fear-avoidance related to work (OR = 1.02, 95% CI = 1.00-1.03), and, in the last year, no opioid prescriptions (OR = 1.44, 95% CI = 1.00-2.07), physical therapy (OR = 1.63, 95% CI = 1.00-2.65), or sleep disorder diagnosis (OR = 1.62, 95% CI = 1.05-2.51) significantly increased the odds that patients would not seek any additional care. In the second model, not being on active duty service (OR = 2.18, 95% CI = 1.38-3.46), low baseline disability (OR = 1.04, 95% CI = 1.02-1.06), and no opioid prescriptions in the prior year (OR = 2.19, 95% CI = 1.42-3.37) increased the odds that patients would have less visits (⩽2 visits). CONCLUSION: Our study found several variables that helped determine whether patients would seek little or no additional care during the 12 months following a self-management education class for LBP.