Work-related interventions for preventing back pain-protocol for a systematic review and network meta-analysis

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health
• Preventive Medicine
• Evidence-Based Practice

Background:

• Back pain is a leading cause of disability and economic burden.
• Workplace factors significantly influence back pain occurrence and persistence.
• Workplace interventions offer a key opportunity for back pain prevention.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review and network meta-analyze the effectiveness of various work-related interventions for preventing non-specific back pain.
• To identify the most effective intervention strategies and their components.
• To provide evidence-based guidance for selecting and implementing workplace back pain prevention strategies.

Main Methods:

• Comprehensive database searches (CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Web of Science, etc.) for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and cluster-RCTs.
• Inclusion criteria: formal employment context, prevention of non-specific back pain, comparison to a control condition.
• Analysis: pairwise and network meta-analyses, subgroup analyses, risk of bias assessment (RoB 2), and certainty of evidence rating (GRADE).

Main Results:

• This section is to be filled upon completion of the review and analysis.
• Expected to identify effective work-related intervention strategies and components.
• Will rank interventions based on effectiveness (P scores) and provide summary effect sizes.

Conclusions:

• This systematic review and network meta-analysis will synthesize evidence on work-related interventions for back pain prevention.
• Findings will inform the selection of optimal interventions, resource allocation, and future research directions.
• Aims to improve the development and implementation of effective workplace health programs.