Participation in Low Back Pain Management: It Is Time for the To-Be Scenarios in Digital Public Health

Michela Franchini, Massimiliano Salvatori, Francesca Denoth, Sabrina Molinaro and Stefania Pieroni
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Michela Franchini: Institute of Clinical Physiology, National Research Council, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Massimiliano Salvatori: Institute of Clinical Physiology, National Research Council, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Francesca Denoth: Institute of Clinical Physiology, National Research Council, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Sabrina Molinaro: Institute of Clinical Physiology, National Research Council, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Stefania Pieroni: Institute of Clinical Physiology, National Research Council, 56124 Pisa, Italy

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 13, 1-18

Abstract: Low back pain (LBP) carries a high risk of chronicization and disability, greatly impacting the overall demand for care and costs, and its treatment is at risk of scarce adherence. This work introduces a new scenario based on the use of a mobile health tool, the Dress-KINESIS, to support the traditional rehabilitation approach. The tool proposes targeted self-manageable exercise plans for improving pain and disability, but it also monitors their efficacy. Since LBP prevention is the key strategy, the tool also collects real-patient syndromic information, shares valid educational messages and fosters self-determined motivation to exercise. Our analysis is based on a comparison of the performance of the traditional rehabilitation process for non-specific LBP patients and some different scenarios, designed by including the Dress-KINESIS’s support in the original process. The results of the simulations show that the integrated approach leads to a better capacity for taking on patients while maintaining the same physiotherapists’ effort and costs, and it decreases healthcare costs during the two years following LBP onset. These findings suggest that the healthcare system should shift the paradigm towards citizens’ participation and the digital support, with the aim of improving its efficiency and citizens’ quality of life.

Keywords: participation; digital health; Dress-KINESIS; scenario method; Arena tool; low back pain; modeling (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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