ArticleBMC family practice2019
Well informed physician-patient communication in consultations on back pain - study protocol of the cluster randomized GAP trial.
Article in BMC family practice, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 11 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Effectiveness of a Physician-Led Web Portal on Back Pain: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial.Deutsches Arzteblatt international · 2025Trial
- The economic impact of a physician-introduced web portal on lower back pain: results from a cluster-randomized trial.Cost effectiveness and resource allocation : C/E · 2026Article
- Development and proof-of-concept of a complex intervention to support appropriate imaging for musculoskeletal pain: the Betti programme.Implementation science communications · 2026Article
- Evaluating the Acceptance and Usability of an Independent, Noncommercial Search Engine for Medical Information: Cross-Sectional Questionnaire Study and User Behavior Tracking Analysis.JMIR human factors · 2025Article
- The Acceptance, Usability, and Utility of a Web Portal for Back Pain as Recommended by Primary Care Physicians: Qualitative Interview Study With Patients.JMIR formative research · 2022Article
- Variance components of ratings of physician-patient communication: A generalizability theory analysis.PloS one · 2021Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
16 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundBack pain is one of the most frequent causes of health-related work absence. In Germany, more than 70% of adults suffer from at least one back pain episode per annum. It has strong impact on health care costs and patients' quality of life. Patients increasingly seek health information on the internet. However, judging its trustworthiness is difficult. In addition, physicians who are being confronted with this type of information often experience it to complicate the physician-patient interaction. The GAP trial aims to develop, implement and evaluate an evidence-based, easy-to-understand and trustworthy internet information portal on lower back pain to be used by general practitioners and patients during and after the consultation. Effectiveness of GAP portal use compared to routine consultation on improving communication and informedness of both physicians and patients will be assessed. In addition, effects on health care costs and patients' days of sick leave will be evaluated.
methodsWe will conduct a prospective multi-centre, cluster-randomized parallel group trial including 1500 patients and 150 recruiting general practitioners. The intervention group will have access to the GAP portal. The portal will contain brief guides for patients and physicians on how to improve the consultation as well as information on epidemiology, aetiology, symptoms, benefits and harms of treatment options for acute, sub-acute and chronic lower back pain. The GAP portal will be designed to be user-friendly and present information on back pain tailored for either patients or physicians in form of brief fact sheets, educative videos, info-graphics, animations and glossaries. Physicians and patients will assess their informedness and the physician-patient communication in consultations at baseline and at two time points after the consultations under investigation. Days of sick leave and health care costs related to back pain will be compared between control and intervention group using routine data of company health insurance funds. DISCUSSION: The GAP-trial intends to improve the communication between physicians and their patients and the informedness of both groups. If proven beneficial, the evidence-based and user-friendly portal will be made accessible for all patients and health professionals in back pain care. Inclusion of further indications might be implemented and evaluated in the long term.
trial registrationGerman Clinical Trials Register DRKS00014279 (registered 27th of April 2018).
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Registered trials
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