Communicating safety-netting information in primary care physiotherapy consultations for people with low back pain

Safety-netting involves communicating information to patients about diagnostic uncertainty, the likely time-course of their condition and how to appropriately seek help from a healthcare professional if their condition persists or worsens. Little is known about how physiotherapists communicate safety-netting information to people with low back pain (LBP).

This research aimed to use a Safety-Netting Coding Tool (SaNCoT) to explore how physiotherapists communicate safety-netting information to people with LBP.

The SaNCoT was used to conduct a secondary analysis of audio-recordings and transcripts from 79 primary care physiotherapy consultations (41 initial and 38 follow-up) involving 12 physiotherapists and 41 patients with LBP in Southern England. Quantitative data from the SaNCoT were analysed descriptively.

The study found evidence of diagnostic uncertainty in 53 (67%) appointments and no examples of physiotherapists providing patients with specific information about their condition time-course. Eight patients were given safety-netting advice, but most (57.9%, n = 11) episodes of safety-netting advice did not include specific signs and symptoms for patients to monitor. Potential missed opportunities for safety-netting advice were identified in 19 appointments (24.1%) which tended to relate to the patient's associated leg symptoms but also included possible serious pathology.

The SaNCoT was successfully used to measure safety-netting communication within physiotherapy consultations and found missed opportunities for providing clear safety-netting advice. Physiotherapists can use the findings to reflect on how they can provide clear safety-netting information to patients with LBP to effectively support patients to self-manage and help them seek appropriate care if their condition deteriorates.