Back pain amongst 8,910 young Australian women: A longitudinal analysis of the use of conventional providers, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) practitioners and self-prescribed CAM

Sibbritt, DW; Adams, J

Back pain amongst 8,910 young Australian women: A longitudinal analysis of the use of conventional providers, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) practitioners and self-prescribed CAM

Sibbritt, DW

Adams, J

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Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Clinical Rheumatology, 2010, 29 (1), pp. 25 - 32
Issue Date:: 2010-01-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Sibbritt, DW https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3561-9447	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Adams, J https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9901-5717	en_US
dc.date.available	2009-09-17	en_US
dc.date.issued	2010-01-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Clinical Rheumatology, 2010, 29 (1), pp. 25 - 32	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	0770-3198	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/15546
dc.description.abstract	Back problems and back pain are amongst the most prevalent conditions afflicting Australians and carry high direct and indirect costs for the health care systems of all developed countries. A major gap in the research literature on this topic is the longitudinal analysis of health seeking behaviour for people with back pain. All studies to date have been cross-sectional and it is important that the use of different providers (both conventional and complementary and alternative medicine, CAM) is examined over time. This study analysed data from a longitudinal study conducted over a 3-year period on 8,910 young Australian women. Information on health service use, self-prescribed treatments, and health status was obtained from two questionnaires mailed to study participants in 2003 and 2006. We found that there is little difference in the consultation practises or use of self-prescribed CAM between women who recently sought help for back pain and women who had longer-term back pain; the only difference being that women with longer-term back pain consulted more with chiropractors. We conclude that women who seek help for their back pain are frequent visitors to a range of conventional and CAM practitioners and are also high users of self-prescribed CAM treatments. The frequent use of a range of conventional providers and practitioner-based and self-prescribed CAM amongst women with back pain warrants further investigation. © 2009 Clinical Rheumatology.	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Clinical Rheumatology	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1007/s10067-009-1299-4	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Arthritis & Rheumatology	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Humans	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Back Pain	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Complementary Therapies	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Phytotherapy	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Self Medication	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Population Surveillance	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Health Care Surveys	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Adolescent	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Adult	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Aged	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Australia	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Chiropractic	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Female	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Health Behavior	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Longitudinal Studies	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Middle Aged	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Quality of Life	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Surveys and Questionnaires	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Young Adult	en_US
dc.title	Back pain amongst 8,910 young Australian women: A longitudinal analysis of the use of conventional providers, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) practitioners and self-prescribed CAM	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	1	en_US
utslib.citation.volume	29	en_US
utslib.for	1104 Complementary and Alternative Medicine	en_US
utslib.for	1103 Clinical Sciences	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Health
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Strength - CHSP - Health Services and Practice
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access
pubs.issue	1	en_US
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	29	en_US

Abstract:

Back problems and back pain are amongst the most prevalent conditions afflicting Australians and carry high direct and indirect costs for the health care systems of all developed countries. A major gap in the research literature on this topic is the longitudinal analysis of health seeking behaviour for people with back pain. All studies to date have been cross-sectional and it is important that the use of different providers (both conventional and complementary and alternative medicine, CAM) is examined over time. This study analysed data from a longitudinal study conducted over a 3-year period on 8,910 young Australian women. Information on health service use, self-prescribed treatments, and health status was obtained from two questionnaires mailed to study participants in 2003 and 2006. We found that there is little difference in the consultation practises or use of self-prescribed CAM between women who recently sought help for back pain and women who had longer-term back pain; the only difference being that women with longer-term back pain consulted more with chiropractors. We conclude that women who seek help for their back pain are frequent visitors to a range of conventional and CAM practitioners and are also high users of self-prescribed CAM treatments. The frequent use of a range of conventional providers and practitioner-based and self-prescribed CAM amongst women with back pain warrants further investigation. © 2009 Clinical Rheumatology.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/15546