Evidence mapPaperPMID 40674046Full record

Trial reportJAMA network open2025

One-Page Patient Fact Sheets for Low Back Pain in Primary Care: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Christian Longtin, Jeremy R Chang, Jolyn Hersch, Sweekriti Sharma, Michael C Ferraro, Rodrigo R N Rizzo, Jennifer McBride, Arnold Y L Wong, Chris G Maher, Michelle Guppy and 2 more

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in JAMA network open, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Christian LongtinSchool of Rehabilitation, University of Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada.
Jeremy R ChangInstitute for Musculoskeletal Health, Sydney Local Health District, New South Wales, Australia.
Jolyn HerschSydney School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Sweekriti SharmaInstitute for Musculoskeletal Health, Sydney Local Health District, New South Wales, Australia.
Michael C FerraroCentre for Pain IMPACT, Neuroscience Research Australia, Sydney, Australia.
Rodrigo R N RizzoCentre for Pain IMPACT, Neuroscience Research Australia, Sydney, Australia.
Jennifer McBrideMaridulu Budyari Gumal, the Sydney Partnership for Health, Education, Research and Enterprise (SPHERE) Consumer Reference Group, Sydney, Australia.
Arnold Y L WongDepartment of Rehabilitation Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Chris G MaherInstitute for Musculoskeletal Health, Sydney Local Health District, New South Wales, Australia.
Michelle GuppySchool of Rural Medicine, University of New England, Armidale, Australia.
James H McAuleyCentre for Pain IMPACT, Neuroscience Research Australia, Sydney, Australia.
Adrian C TraegerInstitute for Musculoskeletal Health, Sydney Local Health District, New South Wales, Australia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Importance: Supporting informed decision-making is a fundamental aspect of primary care for low back pain. Two alternative approaches are providing fact sheets that list information about managing back pain or fact sheets that give advice on how to self-manage back pain, the comparative effects of which are unknown. Objective: To determine the effects of 1-page fact sheets on patient-reported preparedness for shared decision-making among people with low back pain. Design, Setting, and Participants: This 2-group parallel randomized clinical trial recruited 1080 adults from April 1, 2023, to April 30, 2024, who had recently seen their physician for uncomplicated low back pain. Participants were randomized to receive 1 of 2 one-page fact sheets. Outcomes were collected immediately after reading the fact sheet. Interventions: The information sheet was a 1-page fact sheet from a reputable medical journal and listed guideline-recommended management options. The advice sheet was a 1-page fact sheet from a recent clinical care standard and provided advice on how to self-manage low back pain. Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome was patient-reported preparedness for decision-making, measured by the 100-point Preparation for Decision Making scale (where higher scores indicated higher preparedness for decision-making). Secondary outcomes included intentions for guideline-recommended interventions (staying active, physical therapies, and heat application) and nonrecommended interventions (imaging and opioid medicines). Analysis was performed on an intent-to-treat basis. Results: The total study sample included 1080 patients (mean [SD] age, 51.9 [14.7] years; 764 women [70.7%]). After reading the fact sheet, mean (SD) scores for preparation for decision-making were 57.6 (26.5) in the information sheet group and 52.9 (26.2) in the advice sheet group (adjusted mean difference, 4.7 points; 95% CI, 1.0-8.5 points; P = .01). A larger effect was observed among participants with chronic low back pain (mean [SD], 58.3 [28.9] points with information sheet vs 51.9 [28.4] points with advice sheet; adjusted mean difference, 6.4 points; 95% CI, 1.7-11.0 points; P = .007) compared with those with acute low back pain (mean [SD], 57.8 [26.0] points with information sheet vs 56.6 [29.2] points with advice sheet; adjusted mean difference, 1.2 points; 95% CI, -4.9 to 7.4 points; P = .70). There were no significant between-group differences in intentions to use guideline-recommended or nonrecommended interventions. Conclusion and Relevance: In this randomized clinical trial among people who had recently seen their physician for uncomplicated low back pain, an information sheet listing management options was more effective than an advice sheet at preparing patients for shared decision-making. It is uncertain whether this effect is meaningful. Trial Registration: http://anzctr.org.au Identifier: ACTRN12623000603617.

Indexed as

Low Back PainPatient Education as TopicAdultAgedDecision Making, SharedFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPatient ParticipationPrimary Health Care

Identifiers

PMID40674046
PMCPMC12272283

What Socratic holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.