Trial reportBMC public health2016
Cost-effectiveness of providing patients with information on managing mild low-back symptoms in an occupational health setting.
Trial report in BMC public health, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT00908102 (The Prevalence of Low Back Symptoms in a Finnish Forestry Company - Effectiveness of Primary Care Interventions for Non-acute Low Back Symptoms in Occupational Health. Two Separate Randomised Controlled Trials), which is not on this map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
The Prevalence of Low Back Symptoms in a Finnish Forestry Company - Effectiveness of Primary Care Interventions for Non-acute Low Back Symptoms in Occupational Health. Two Separate Randomised Controlled Trials (RCT) of Various Levels.
Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 21 citations in OpenAlex.
- What are cost-effective ergonomics interventions for prevention and management of occupational musculoskeletal disorders: a systematic review of economic evaluation studies.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2026Pooled it
- Patient education booklet to support evidence-based low back pain care in primary care - a cluster randomized controlled trial.BMC family practice · 2021Trial
- Effectiveness of training in guideline-oriented biopsychosocial management of low-back pain in occupational health services - a cluster randomized controlled trial.Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health · 2021Trial
- Transcultural adaption and preliminary evaluation of "understanding low back pain" patient education booklet.BMC health services research · 2019Trial
- Effectiveness of three interventions for secondary prevention of low back pain in the occupational health setting - a randomised controlled trial with a natural course control.BMC public health · 2018Trial
- Evaluating musculoskeletal imaging communication interventions using behavioural science: a scoping review using the COM-B model.BMJ open · 2025Article
- The Effectiveness of Group-Based Core Stability Exercise and Educational Booklet for Hospital Workers in Taiwan with Nonspecific Low Back Pain: A Preliminary Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Evaluation of training in guideline-oriented biopsychosocial management of low back pain in occupational health services: Protocol of a cluster randomized trial.Health science reports · 2021Article
- A classification-based approach to low back pain in primary care - protocol for a benchmarking controlled trial.BMC family practice · 2020Article
- Education as a strategy for managing occupational-related musculoskeletal pain: a scoping review.BMJ open · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 6 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundEvidence shows that low back specific patient information is effective in sub-acute low back pain (LBP), but effectiveness and cost-effectiveness (CE) of information in early phase symptoms is not clear. We assessed effectiveness and CE of patient information in mild LBP in the occupational health (OH) setting in a quasi-experimental study.
methodsA cohort of employees (N = 312, aged <57) with non-specific, mild LBP (Visual Analogue Scale between 10-34 mm) was selected from the respondents of an employee survey (N = 2480; response rate 71 %). A random sample, representing the natural course of LBP (NC, N = 83; no intervention), was extracted as a control group. Remaining employees were invited (181 included, 47 declined, one excluded) into a randomised controlled study with two 1:1 allocated parallel intervention arms ("Booklet", N = 92; "Combined", N = 89). All participants received the "Back Book" patient information booklet and the Combined also an individual verbal review of the booklet. Physical impairment (PHI), LBP, health care (HC) utilisation, and all-cause sickness absence (SA) were assessed at two years. CE of the interventions on SA days was analysed by using direct HC costs in one year, two years from baseline. Multiple imputation was used for missing values.
resultsCompared to NC, the Booklet reduced HC costs by 196€ and SA by 3.5 days per year. In 81 % of the bootstrapped cases the Booklet was both cost saving and effective on SA. Compared to NC, in the Combined arm, the figures were 107€, 0.4 days, and 54 %, respectively. PHI decreased in both interventions.
conclusionsBooklet information alone was cost-effective in comparison to natural course of mild LBP. Combined information reduced HC costs. Both interventions reduced physical impairment. Mere booklet information is beneficial for employees who report mild LBP in the OH setting, and is also cost saving for the health care system.
trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT00908102.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.