Observational studyBMJ open2020
Community-based online survey on seeking care and information for lower limb pain and injury in Australia: an observational study.
Observational study in BMJ open, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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
8 citing papers in PubMed, 14 citations in OpenAlex.
- Understanding barriers to treatment-seeking in Mseleni joint disease: A multistaged study in rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.African journal of primary health care & family medicine · 2026Article
- Factors affecting health-seeking behavior in sports climbers in Metro Manila: a cross-sectional study.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2025Article
- Factors affecting the duration of initial medical care seeking among older rural patients diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis: a retrospective cohort study.BMC rheumatology · 2024Article
- Article
- High and low value care recommended and undertaken prior to knee or hip arthroplasty: a survey study.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2023Article
- Health-Seeking Behaviors and Misconceptions about Osteoarthritis in Patients and the General Population in Saudi Arabia.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Osteoarthritis management: Does the pharmacist play a role in bridging the gap between what patients actually know and what they ought to know? Insights from a national online survey.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2022Article
- Postoperative Nursing and Functional Rehabilitation of Ultrasound Diagnosis of Lower Rotator Cuff Injury.Scanning · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesMusculoskeletal pain is a leading cause of disability globally. In geographically and socioeconomically diverse countries, such as Australia, care seeking when someone experiences musculoskeletal pain is varied and potentially influenced by their individual characteristics, access to practitioners or perceived trustworthiness of information. This study explored how consumers currently access healthcare, how well it is trusted and if sociodemographic factors influenced healthcare utilisation.
designAnonymous online observational survey.
settingAustralia.
participantsA convenience sample of 831 community-based individuals (18+ years). OUTCOME MEASURES: Descriptive analyses and generalised estimating equations were used to quantify healthcare-seeking behaviours, sources and trust of health information for (A) first-contact practitioners, (B) medical practitioners, and (C) other sources of information.
resultsOf the 761 respondents, 73% were females, 54% resided in capital cities. 68% of respondents had experienced pain or injury in more than one lower limb joint. Despite this, more than 30% of respondents only sought help when there had not been natural resolution of their pain. Physiotherapists had the highest odds of being seen, asked and trusted for healthcare information. The odds of seeking care from general practitioners were no higher than seeking information from an expert website. Older individuals and women exhibited higher odds of seeking, asking and trusting health information.
conclusionIntelligible and trustworthy information must be available for consumers experiencing lower limb pain. Individuals, particularly younger people, are seeking information from multiple, unregulated sources. This suggests that healthcare professionals may need to invest time and resources into improving the trustworthiness and availability of healthcare information to improve healthcare quality.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.