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A biopsychosocial understanding of lower back pain: Content analysis of online information
Author(s) -
Black N.M.,
Sullivan S.J.,
Mani R.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
european journal of pain
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.305
H-Index - 109
eISSN - 1532-2149
pISSN - 1090-3801
DOI - 10.1002/ejp.1158
Subject(s) - biopsychosocial model , psychosocial , checklist , certification , medicine , quality (philosophy) , psychology , psychiatry , philosophy , epistemology , political science , law , cognitive psychology
Abstract Objectives (1) To develop a checklist to assess the representation of biopsychosocial lower back pain ( LBP ) online information; (2) to analyse publicly accessed online LBP information from a Google search for the degree that psychosocial contributors are described alongside the traditional biomedical approach to explaining LBP ; (3) whether websites use information on pain biology to educate on LBP ; (4) any inaccurate or false information regarding the mechanisms of LBP and; (5) the amount of websites certified by established benchmarks for quality health information. Materials and methods An online search was conducted using the Google search engines of six major English‐speaking countries. Website content was analysed using three checklists developed for the purpose of this study – Biopsychosocial information categorisation checklist and scoring criteria; pain biology information checklist; and the inaccurate information checklist. Website quality was identified by the presence of an Health on the Net certification ( HON code). Results Of the fifteen websites analysed, the content of 26.7% of websites was classified as ‘biomedical’, 60% ‘limited psychosocial’ and 13.3% ‘reasonable psychosocial’; 20% included information on pain biology; 46.7% inaccurately implied pain to be equal to tissue damage and 46.7% implied pathways specific to pain transmission; 40% were HON code certified. Conclusion Online LBP information retrieved through a Google search has limited to no integration of psychosocial or pain biology information. The focus on tissue pathology is further supported by the inaccurate descriptions of pain as equal to tissue damage and as an input to the central nervous system ( CNS ). Online LBP information needs to be guided by criteria more sensitive to the psychosocial contributors to pain. Significance The online LBP information retrieved from a Google search needs to be guided by information more sensitive to the psychosocial contributors to pain and disability. This study also highlights the presence of inaccurate information that implied pain as a measure of tissue damage or as an input to the nervous system.