Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40762388›Full record

Observational studyEuropean journal of pain (London, England)2025

Patient Characteristics Are Associated With Differences in Perceptions of Reassurance After a Consultation for Low Back Pain: Analysis of an Observational Study in Primary Care.

Anika Young, Adrian C Traeger, Simon D French, Alice Kongsted, Mark J Hancock, Tue S Jensen, Hazel J Jenkins

Abstract readObservational Study
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Observational study in European journal of pain (London, England), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

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

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Observational
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

7 authors.

Anika YoungDepartment of Chiropractic, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5730-0184
Adrian C TraegerInstitute for Musculoskeletal Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Simon D FrenchDepartment of Chiropractic, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Alice KongstedResearch Unit of Clinical Biomechanics, Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics, Southern Denmark University, Odense, Denmark.
Mark J HancockDepartment of Health Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Tue S JensenResearch Unit of Clinical Biomechanics, Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics, Southern Denmark University, Odense, Denmark.
Hazel J JenkinsDepartment of Chiropractic, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPeople with low back pain (LBP) report different perceptions of reassurance after a consultation. We aimed to determine whether patient characteristics are associated with differences in patient perceptions of reassurance.

methodsSecondary analysis of 2048 adults presenting with back pain to a chiropractor. We used linear mixed models to determine associations between patient sociodemographic, clinical and psychological characteristics and the outcome of reassurance measured using the four subscales of the Consultation-based Reassurance Questionnaire (CRQ).

resultsPatients with higher perceived risk of pain persistence reported perceiving less reassurance in their consultation, on all four subscales of the CRQ: data-gathering (regression co-efficient -0.13 [99% confidence interval: -0.23, -0.03]), relationship-building (-0.13 [-0.22, -0.04]), cognitive reassurance (-0.20 [-0.30, -0.10]) and generic reassurance (-0.27 [-0.39, -0.15]). Older age was associated with lower cognitive reassurance (-0.03 [-0.05, -0.01]) and generic reassurance (-0.04 [-0.07, -0.02]). Males were associated with lower relationship-building scores (0.70 [-1.13 to -0.28]), compared to females. Previous spinal imaging was associated with lower generic reassurance (-0.68 [-1.28, -0.09]). Compared to acute pain, higher levels of reassurance were perceived by patients with subacute pain [data-gathering (0.83 [0.10, 1.65]), relationship-building (0.70 [0.02, 1.37]), cognitive reassurance (0.87 [0.11, 1.56])]. Higher back pain intensity was associated with higher levels of relationship-building (0.13 [0.01, 0.25]) and generic reassurance (0.18 [0.02, 0.34]).

conclusionPeople with higher perceived risk of pain persistence, previous spinal imaging, male and older age perceived slightly lower levels of reassurance. The impact of these associations on the success of a LBP consultation is unclear. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: People seeking care for LBP report receiving variable levels of reassurance from healthcare providers. It is unknown whether perceived reassurance may differ according to patient characteristics. We identified several patient characteristics associated with lower perceived reassurance during a consultation for LBP, including higher perceived risk of pain persistence, previous imaging for LBP, males, older age, acute pain and lower LBP intensity. Knowledge of these characteristics may help inform optimal delivery of individualised patient reassurance.

Indexed as

Low Back PainAdultAgedFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPain MeasurementPrimary Health CareReferral and ConsultationSurveys and Questionnaires

Identifiers

PMID40762388
PMCPMC12323289

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC
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Registered trials

None linked

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.