Trial reportBMC health services research2024
Physiotherapists as first-contact practitioners for patients with low back pain in French primary care: a pragmatic cluster randomised controlled trial.
Trial report in BMC health services research, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT05200533 (Task-sharing and Shifting Model Between Family Physicians and Physiotherapists for Acute Low Back Pain Patients), which is not on this map. Cited by 5 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.
Task-sharing and Shifting Model Between Family Physicians and Physiotherapists for Acute Low Back Pain Patients: a Pragmatic Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial
Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed.
- Examples of Systemic Solutions for Skill-Mix Issues-An Analysis of International Experiences with a Focus on Rural Areas.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Rotator Cuff-Related Shoulder Pain: A Survey of Current Physiotherapy Practice in Cyprus.Clinics and practice · 2026Article
- Article
- The Role of Physiotherapists in Multi-professional Primary Care: Lessons for Japan.Physical therapy research · 2026Review
- Adapting the German demand planning guideline for physiotherapy: a cross-sectional analysis from Lower Saxony.Research in health services & regions · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundA new model of care enables French physiotherapists (PT) working in collaboration with family physicians (FP) to expand their usual scope of practice for patients with acute low back pain (LBP). The aim of our study is to evaluate the impact of this new first-contact physiotherapy (FCP) advanced practice model compared to usual FP care.
methodsA multicentre pragmatic non-inferiority cluster randomised controlled trial (RCT) has been conducted in six multidisciplinary primary healthcare centres in France. Patients from 20 to 55 years old with acute LBP consulted either the PT or the FP. PT independently assessed and managed patients including medication prescription. The primary outcome measure was disability at six weeks (Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire, range 0-24). Secondary outcomes include pain, risk disability prognosis, satisfaction with care, healthcare resources use and wait times. Data were collected at baseline, six and twelve weeks. Outcomes across arms were compared using mixed models regression analysis. Except for non-inferiority analysis of the primary outcome measure, other analyses were performed with a two-sided significance level of 0.05.
resultsSixty patients were recruited (PT: 32, FP: 28). The adjusted mean difference between groups for disability at 6 weeks was 0.39 in favour of the FP group (95%CI: -2.03; 2.81, p = 0.753). Considering a 5 points minimal clinically important difference, the FCP-led model of care was not inferior to usual FP care for the primary outcome. There was no statistically significant difference between groups in disability at 3 months and pain at 6 weeks and 3 months. PTs prescribed significantly less medications than FPs (p < 0.001). No statistically significant difference was found for other healthcare resource use outcomes, patients' satisfaction and wait times.
conclusionThis is the first RCT to evaluate the impact of a FCP advanced practice model of care including medical delegated acts in a primary care setting. Our results suggest that the FCP-led model of care is not inferior to usual FP care regarding disability at 6 weeks. The FCP model could result in possible benefits in terms of healthcare resources use. Further adequate powered studies with larger sample size are needed to draw stronger conclusions.
trial registrationThe study has been registered in ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT05200533) on the 20th of January 2022.
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