Patients’ experiences of the BetterBack model of care for low back pain in primary care – a qualitative interview study

Figures & data

Table I. Subcategories and examples of quotes in the category “Knowledge translation”

Categories	Subcategories	Examples of quotes
Knowledge translation	Information and explanations about back pain	I was happy with the explanation
		My back muscles were weak
		The pain is related to too heavy work
	Information and explanations about management of low back pain	It is good to walk every day
		My muscles need to become stronger
		The pain would diminish by the exercises

Table II. Participants’ characteristics

Participant	Sex	Age, years	Content of the BetterBack MoC received	STarT Back risk profile^a
1	M	60	Core interventions^a	Low risk
2	W	36	Core interventions^a + group ED	Medium risk
3	M	54	Core interventions^a + group ED & group EX	Medium risk
4	W	46	Core interventions^a + group ED & group EX	Medium risk
5	M	29	Core interventions^a + group ED	High risk
6	W	60	Core interventions^a + group ED	High risk
7	M	35	Core interventions^a	Low risk
8	W	59	Core interventions^a	Low risk
9	W	62	Core interventions^a + group EX	Low risk
10	M	28	Core interventions^a + group ED	High risk
11	W	57	Core interventions^a + group ED & group EX	Medium risk
12	W	56	Core interventions^a + group ED & group EX	Low risk
13	M	39	Core interventions^a + group ED	Medium risk
14	W	25	Core interventions^a	Medium risk
15	W	52	Core interventions^a	Medium risk

M = Man, W = Woman, ED = Education, EX = Exercise.^a Core interventions = Individualized information about assessment and treatment plan at initial and follow-up visits, a standardized brochure about LBP and self-management, as well as a home exercise programme.

^aRisk group qualification according to the STarT Back Tool.

Figure 1. Overall theme, categories, and subcategories of the qualitative content analysis (no text below Figure 1)

Table

No. Item	Guide questions/description	Reported on Page #
Domain 1: Research team and reflexivity
Personal Characteristics
1. Interviewer/facilitator	Which author/s conducted the interview or focus group?	Page 7
2. Credentials	What were the researcher’s credentials? E.g. PhD, MD	Page 1
3. Occupation	What was their occupation at the time of the study?	Page 1, 25, 26
4. Gender	Was the researcher male or female?	Page 25
5. Experience and training	What experience or training did the researcher have?	Page 25
Relationship with participants
6. Relationship established	Was a relationship established prior to study commencement?	Page 7
7. Participant knowledge of the interviewer	What did the participants know about the researcher? e.g., personal goals, reasons for doing the research	Page 5, 6
8. Interviewer characteristics	What characteristics were reported about the inter viewer/facilitator? e.g., Bias, assumptions, reasons and interests in the research topic	Page 7, 8, 25, 26
Domain 2: study design
Theoretical framework
9. Methodological orientation and Theory	What methodological orientation was stated to underpin the study? e.g., grounded theory, discourse analysis, ethnography, phenomenology, content analysis	Page 2, 8, 26
Participant selection
10. Sampling	How were participants selected? e.g., purposive, convenience, consecutive, snowball	Page 6
11. Method of approach	How were participants approached? e.g., face-to-face, telephone, mail, email	Page 6
12. Sample size	How many participants were in the study?	Page 6
13. Non-participation	How many people refused to participate or dropped out? Reasons?	Page 6
Setting
14. Setting of data collection	Where was the data collected? e.g., home, clinic, workplace	Page 7
15. Presence of non-participants	Was anyone else present besides the participants and researchers?	No.
16. Description of sample	What are the important characteristics of the sample? e.g., demographic data, date	Page 6, 7, Table II
Data collection
17. Interview guide	Were questions, prompts, guides provided by the authors? Was it pilot tested?	Page 7, 8 Appendix A
18. Repeat interviews	Were repeat interviews carried out? If yes, how many?	No.
19. Audio/visual recording	Did the research use audio or visual recording to collect the data?	Page 7, 8
20. Field notes	Were field notes made during and/or after the interview or focus group?	Page 7, 8
21. Duration	What was the duration of the interviews or focus group?	Page 7
22. Data saturation	Was data saturation discussed?	Page 6, 27
23. Transcripts returned	Were transcripts returned to participants for comment and/or correction?	No. Page 27
Domain 3: analysis and findings
Data analysis
24. Number of data coders	How many data coders coded the data?	Page 9
25. Description of the coding tree	Did authors provide a description of the coding tree?	Page 8 Table I
26. Derivation of themes	Were themes identified in advance or derived from the data?	Page 9, 26
27. Software	What software, if applicable, was used to manage the data?	Page 8
28. Participant checking	Did participants provide feedback on the findings?	No Page 27
Reporting
29. Quotations presented	Were participant quotations presented to illustrate the themes/findings? Was each quotation identified? e.g. participant number	Page 9–18
30. Data and findings consistent	Was there consistency between the data presented and the findings?	Page 9–18
31. Clarity of major themes	Were major themes clearly presented in the findings?	Page 9–18
32. Clarity of minor themes	Is there a description of diverse cases or discussion of minor themes?	Page 9–18