Low back pain media campaign: no effect on sickness behaviour

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Communication
• Musculoskeletal Disorders

Background:

• Low back pain (LBP) is a prevalent condition with significant societal costs.
• Public understanding and beliefs about LBP can influence health-seeking behaviors.
• Media campaigns are a common strategy to influence public health perceptions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the impact of a media campaign on public beliefs regarding LBP.
• To determine if campaign-induced belief changes correlate with alterations in sick leave, imaging, or surgery rates.

Main Methods:

• A quasi-experimental telephone survey was conducted with 1500 participants across two Norwegian counties during a media campaign, with an adjacent county serving as a control.
• Data on sickness absence, LBP-related surgery, and imaging examinations were collected concurrently.
• Pre-campaign, during-campaign, and post-campaign data were analyzed to evaluate changes.

Main Results:

• The media campaign resulted in a small, statistically significant positive shift in public beliefs about LBP.
• Specific belief changes were observed regarding X-ray use and the importance of staying active and at work.
• Despite altered attitudes, no corresponding changes in sickness behavior (sick leave, surgery, imaging) were detected.

Conclusions:

• While the media campaign had a modest effect on public beliefs about LBP, the impact was insufficient to alter sickness behavior.
• Effective media campaigns targeting LBP require substantial investment and broader reach to influence public behavior significantly.