The attitudes and beliefs of physiotherapists, family physicians and physiatrists concerning chronic low back pain

Abstract

Objective: To examine the chronic low back pain (CLBP)-related attitudes and beliefs of primary and secondary healthcare professionals responsible for the treatment of this condition. Material and Method:The study was conducted with 40 family physicians, 30 physiatrists, and 40 physiotherapists. The beliefs and attitudes of the participants concerning CLBP were evaluated using the Back Belief Questionnaire (BBQ), Health Care Providers' Pain and Impairment Relationship Scale (HC-PAIRS), and Pain Attitudes and Beliefs Scale for Physiotherapists (PABS-PT).Results: Among all the participants, the rate of those with predominantly biomedical beliefs was 80.9%, while the rate of those with predominantly biopsychosocial beliefs was 15.5%. In addition, it was observed that the BBQ, HC-PAIRS and PABS-PT scores were not affected by educational status, number of patients with CLBP treated or examined in a week, and years of experience (p>0.05). The BBQ and HC-PAIRS scores of the family physicians were statistically significantly lower compared to the physiotherapists and those of the physiotherapists were statistically significantly lower compared to the physiatrists (p<0.05). However, the PABS-PT scores were similar among different healthcare professionals (p>0.05). Conclusion:This study revealed that family physicians, physiotherapists, and physiatrists in Turkey might have negative attitudes and beliefs concerning CLBP and the biopsychosocial approach should be further adopted among healthcare professionals.