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Title: The Development And Use Of Mass Media Interventions for Low Back Pain: What Do Members Of The Public Think?

Authors and affiliation: Catherine J Minns Lowe, MSc, BSc (Hons), MCSP1,2, Karen L Barker, PhD, MSc, MCSP1, Margaret Reid, MA3.

1 Physiotherapy Research Unit, Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre NHS Trust, Oxford, UK
2 School of Health Sciences, University of Birmingham, UK
3 Margaret Reid Research and Planning, UK.

Email address: catherine.minnslowe@noc.anglox.nhs.uk

Introduction: Mass media interventions are being used to inform the general public about non specific low back pain. At present, there is a known lack of research regarding the involvement of members of the public in both the development and the evaluation of these mass media interventions.

Objective: To identify and explore the opinions, beliefs and views of members of the public regarding the use, value and acceptability of low back pain mass media interventions and campaigns. The research also aimed to determine the level of credibility, acceptability and trust in the authority of the various potential sources of health care interventions.

Methods: Design: A qualitative study using 10 focus groups. Setting and participants: Community locations with 68 members of the public. Focus Groups: A semi-structured approach was used and a draft low back pain media campaign was also used to facilitate discussion. The sampling frame for the groups included gender, age, socio economic groups, rural, urban and city locations and people with and without experience of back pain. Data Analysis: Following line-by-line analysis to identify concepts and properties, the data was coded to describe and relate categories and subcategories.

Results: Issues surrounding the language, terminology, tone, message and source of campaigns were raised by participants and are fully discussed. Low back pain is a provocative subject and message rejection and misunderstandings, especially amongst those with experience of low back pain, appear serious issues. Three main emergent themes were identified. 1. Mass media health messages and media consumption. 2. Credibility. 3. Issues surrounding the specific proposed media campaign for low back pain used in the study. Generally the use of media to provide health care information was viewed positively, with the National Health Service perceived as the most trustworthy source for such a campaign whilst Government bodies were viewed with scepticism.

Conclusion: A closer collaboration between health care professionals and the public is advocated to achieve valuable and effective media campaigns.