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Collaborative Care for Older Adults with low back pain by family medicine physicians and doctors of chiropractic (COCOA): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Goertz, CM; Salsbury, SA; Vining, RD; Long, CR; Andresen, AA; Jones, ME; Lyons, KJ; Hondras, MA; Killinger, LZ; Wolinsky, FD; Wallace, RB
Published in: Trials
January 16, 2013

BACKGROUND: Low back pain is a prevalent and debilitating condition that affects the health and quality of life of older adults. Older people often consult primary care physicians about back pain, with many also receiving concurrent care from complementary and alternative medicine providers, most commonly doctors of chiropractic. However, a collaborative model of treatment coordination between these two provider groups has yet to be tested. The primary aim of the Collaborative Care for Older Adults Clinical Trial is to develop and evaluate the clinical effectiveness and feasibility of a patient-centered, collaborative care model with family medicine physicians and doctors of chiropractic for the treatment of low back pain in older adults. METHODS/DESIGN: This pragmatic, pilot randomized controlled trial will enroll 120 participants, age 65 years or older with subacute or chronic low back pain lasting at least one month, from a community-based sample in the Quad-Cities, Iowa/Illinois, USA. Eligible participants are allocated in a 1:1:1 ratio to receive 12 weeks of medical care, concurrent medical and chiropractic care, or collaborative medical and chiropractic care. Primary outcomes are self-rated back pain and disability. Secondary outcomes include general and functional health status, symptom bothersomeness, expectations for treatment effectiveness and improvement, fear avoidance behaviors, depression, anxiety, satisfaction, medication use and health care utilization. Treatment safety and adverse events also are monitored. Participant-rated outcome measures are collected via self-reported questionnaires and computer-assisted telephone interviews at baseline, and at 4, 8, 12, 24, 36 and 52 weeks post-randomization. Provider-rated expectations for treatment effectiveness and participant improvement also are evaluated. Process outcomes are assessed through qualitative interviews with study participants and research clinicians, chart audits of progress notes and content analysis of clinical trial notes. DISCUSSION: This pragmatic, pilot randomized controlled trial uses a mixed method approach to evaluate the clinical effectiveness, feasibility, and participant and provider perceptions of collaborative care between medical doctors and doctors of chiropractic in the treatment of older adults with low back pain.

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Published In

Trials

DOI

EISSN

1745-6215

Publication Date

January 16, 2013

Volume

14

Start / End Page

18

Location

England

Related Subject Headings

  • Statistics as Topic
  • Physicians, Family
  • Outcome Assessment, Health Care
  • Low Back Pain
  • Humans
  • General & Internal Medicine
  • Cooperative Behavior
  • Clinical Protocols
  • Chiropractic
  • Case Management
 

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Goertz, C. M., Salsbury, S. A., Vining, R. D., Long, C. R., Andresen, A. A., Jones, M. E., … Wallace, R. B. (2013). Collaborative Care for Older Adults with low back pain by family medicine physicians and doctors of chiropractic (COCOA): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Trials, 14, 18. https://doi.org/10.1186/1745-6215-14-18
Goertz, Christine M., Stacie A. Salsbury, Robert D. Vining, Cynthia R. Long, Andrew A. Andresen, Mark E. Jones, Kevin J. Lyons, et al. “Collaborative Care for Older Adults with low back pain by family medicine physicians and doctors of chiropractic (COCOA): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.Trials 14 (January 16, 2013): 18. https://doi.org/10.1186/1745-6215-14-18.
Goertz CM, Salsbury SA, Vining RD, Long CR, Andresen AA, Jones ME, Lyons KJ, Hondras MA, Killinger LZ, Wolinsky FD, Wallace RB. Collaborative Care for Older Adults with low back pain by family medicine physicians and doctors of chiropractic (COCOA): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Trials. 2013 Jan 16;14:18.
Journal cover image

Published In

Trials

DOI

EISSN

1745-6215

Publication Date

January 16, 2013

Volume

14

Start / End Page

18

Location

England

Related Subject Headings

  • Statistics as Topic
  • Physicians, Family
  • Outcome Assessment, Health Care
  • Low Back Pain
  • Humans
  • General & Internal Medicine
  • Cooperative Behavior
  • Clinical Protocols
  • Chiropractic
  • Case Management