General practitioners' decision-making process to prescribe pain medicines for low back pain: a qualitative study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Pain medicines are widely prescribed by general practitioners (GPs) when managing people with low back pain (LBP), but little is known about what drives decisions to prescribe these medicines.

Objectives

The aim of this study was to investigate what influences GPs' decision to prescribe pain medicines for LBP.

Design

Qualitative study with in-depth interviews.

Setting

Australian primary care.

Participants

We interviewed 25 GPs practising in Australia experienced in managing LBP (mean (SD) age 53.4 (9.1) years, mean (SD) years of experience: 24.6 (9.3), 36% female). GPs were provided three vignettes describing common LBP presentations (acute exacerbation of chronic LBP, subacute sciatica and chronic LBP) and were asked to think aloud how they w

SUBMITTER: Ferreira GE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10619041 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature