An investigation into the impact on low back pain of an educational leaflet designed according to lifestyle and need

Low Back Pain (LBP) is a major health problem in many countries at considerable cost to the economy but there is little information available regarding LBP in South Africa. The prevalence and impact is likely to be similar to elsewhere. As South Africa has a small health budget and many health problems to attend to, a cost effective approach to the management of LBP would seem essential. Education, information and advice have been shown to be effective in treating some aspects of LBP and a leaflet is a low-cost method of providing these. Apparently if a leaflet is designed according to the needs of a specific population. it has the potential to be more effective within that group. It has been suggested that the use of such leaflets should be investigated before more expensive treatment. This study therefore aimed to develop an information leaflet about LBP that was appropriate for a resource poor community in Cape Town. The impact of this leaflet was then examined in a second stage of the project. Stage One: Pamphlet development. Stage One: To compile a lifestyle profile of people seeking help for LBP in a resource poor community and to use this profile. together with information about perceived needs of these people regarding LBP. to develop an information leaflet. Method Stage One: Sample: Adults (over the age of 18 years) of a resource poor community who attended the community health centre to consult the doctor for an episode of ALBP, and who agreed to participate in the study, were interviewed about their lifestyle and their perceived needs regarding information to help them manage their LBP. Instrumentation: The Lifestyle Questionnaire consisted of 116 questions, which were based on information obtained from the literature review and the 20-year experience of physiotherapy of the researcher.

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

Division of Physiotherapy

Year dc:date.issued

2008

Author dc:creator

• Yates, Deborah

Advisors dc:contributor.advisor

• Jelsma, Jennifer
• Parker, Romy

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/11427/2998

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/2998