Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37738237›Full record

ArticlePLOS digital health2023

Do age, gender, and education modify the effectiveness of app-delivered and tailored self-management support among adults with low back pain?-Secondary analysis of the selfBACK randomised controlled trial.

Ellen Marie Bardal, Louise Fleng Sandal, Tom Ivar Lund Nilsen, Barbara I Nicholl, Paul Jarle Mork, Karen Søgaard

2 registry-linked trialsAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PLOS digital health, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 3 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

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.

2 · The registry

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.

NCT03798288 nacompletednot on this map

A Decision Support System for Self-management of Low Back Pain - a Randomized Controlled Trial for the selfBACK Project

TypeinterventionalSponsorUniversity of Southern DenmarkRan2019 to 2020Enrolled461ConditionsLow Back PainArmsselfBACK, Usual care
NCT06896812 nanot yet recruitingnot on this mapstarted 2025, after this paper: background citation

A Pilot Study on App-based Treatment Combining Physical Exercise, Graded Activity, and Pain Journaling for Patients with Spinal Complaints

TypeinterventionalSponsorZuyderland Medisch CentrumRan2025 to 2025Enrolled30ConditionsBack Pain, Spinal Disease, Spinal ConditionArmsThe app-based treatment consists of a combination of physical exercise, graded activity, and pain journaling.
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Moving towards the use of artificial intelligence in pain management.European journal of pain (London, England) · 2025
    Pooled it
  2. Trial
  3. Trial
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Ellen Marie BardalDepartment of Neuromedicine and Movement Science, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4827-453X
Louise Fleng SandalDepartment of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics, University of Southern Denmark (UoSD), Odense M, Denmark.
Tom Ivar Lund NilsenDepartment of Public Health and Nursing, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway.
Barbara I NichollInstitute of Health and Wellbeing, University of Glasgow (GLA), Glasgow, United Kingdom.
Paul Jarle MorkDepartment of Public Health and Nursing, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway.
Karen SøgaardDepartment of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics, University of Southern Denmark (UoSD), Odense M, Denmark.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3968-6364

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

selfBACK is an artificial intelligence based self-management app for low back pain (LBP) recently reported to reduce LBP-related disability. The aim of this study was to examine if age, gender, or education modify the effectiveness of the selfBACK intervention using secondary analysis of the selfBACK randomized controlled trial. Persons seeking care for LBP were recruited from primary care in Denmark and Norway and an outpatient clinic (Denmark). The intervention group (n = 232) received the selfBACK app adjunct to usual care. The control group (n = 229) received usual care only. Analyses were stratified by age (18-34, 35-64, ≥65 years), gender (male, female), and education (≤12, >12 years) to investigate differences in effect at three and nine months follow-up on LBP-related disability (Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire [RMDQ]), LBP intensity and pain self-efficacy. Overall, there was no effect modification for any of the sociodemographic factors. However, data on LBP-related disability suggest that the effect of the intervention was somewhat more beneficial in older than in younger participants. The difference between the intervention and control group due to interaction was 2.6 (95% CI: 0.4 to 4.9) RMDQ points for those aged ≥65 years as compared to those aged 35-64 years. In conclusion, age, gender, or education did not influence the effect of the selfBACK intervention on LBP-related disability. However, older participants may have an additional long-term positive effect compared to younger participants. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03798288.

Identifiers

PMID37738237
PMCPMC10516425

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.