Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

Back pain is a leading contributor to disability, high healthcare costs, and time lost from work. In Canada, family physicians are the most common first point of contact for people with back pain. Involving additional team members (e.g. physiotherapists) within the primary care team may help to improve outcomes for people with back pain. The purpose of this study was to explore perspectives and attitudes of participants related to their experiences with this new model of health service delivery. We took a qualitative approach to this research and set out to interview patients who participated in the new model of care. We ensured representation of men and women; people at low, medium, and high risk of ongoing pain and disability; and people that attended just one primary care visit with the physiotherapist and those that received ongoing care from the physiotherapist. Telephone interviews were conducted with participants using an interview guide. We asked participants about their experiences and attitudes towards the new service delivery model, barriers/facilitators to implementation, perceived satisfaction, perceived value and impact, and outcomes. We conducted a thematic analysis of the transcripts which included: familiarization with the data, generating initial codes, searching for themes, reviewing themes, defining and naming themes, and producing a report. A total of 18 participants (8 men and 10 women) with low back pain and a median age of 52 years participated in the study. The median duration that participants reported experiencing back pain was five months. Emerging themes included: satisfaction with the model of care, value of the physiotherapist skillset, and comprehensive integration into the primary care team. Results indicated that participants perceived a physiotherapist-led primary care model for back pain as a positive experience that contributed to high satisfaction and positive health outcomes.