The evolution of biopsychosocial beliefs related to low back pain in physical therapy students.

Research

Objectives: To investigate physical therapy students biopsychosocial beliefs regarding low back pain at three time points in their curriculum: first, second, and third year.

Design: This study was a cross-sectional survey. Setting: The study was conducted with enrolled students in a physical therapy program. Participants: Participants were recruited at the following time points: first year students in their first academic semester, second year students in their third academic semester, and third year students in their fifth academic semester. Inclusion criteria were that they were enrolled in the physical therapy program. A total of 91 participants were recruited and completed the assessments. Interventions: The survey was brought to each class in a sealed manila envelope, labeled by the graduating year of each class. The purpose of the survey was explained as an assessment of the student’s current opinions about low back pain and that it was not an examination and there are no “correct” answers. Students signed an informed consent prior to beginning the survey. Students could choose not to participate, simply returning a blank form to the envelope. Main Outcome Measures: There were two outcome measures of interest: The 31 item Pain Attitudes and Beliefs Scale (PABS) and the 15 item Health Care Providers Pain and Impairment Relationship Scale (HC-PAIRS). The PABS can be divided into two sub-scales: biomedical and biopsychosocial. The biomedical sub-scale measures knowledge of pain neuroscience, while the biopsychosocial sub-scale measures knowledge on the complexity of pain. The HC-Pairs measures beliefs on rest and activity on low back pain. The outcome measures have been validated for use in healthcare professionals in prior studies.

Results: Pairwise comparison revealed a statistically significant difference on the PABS-Biomedical and HC-PAIRS between first year and second year (z=-2.05, p<.045; z=-2.31, p<.02) students, as well as between first and third year (z=-3.38, P<.001; z=-3.22, P<.001), respectively.

Conclusions: Physical therapy curriculum can effectively educate students on pain beliefs, as demonstrated by scores on the PABS and HC-PAIRS. Measurement of health beliefs can inform curricular planning. Author(s) Disclosures: No conflicts.