Table 1 Inclusion criteria
Inclusion criteria | Rationales | Sources |
|---|---|---|
Primary sources | A, TI | |
All GHC members with at least one primary care visit for back pain within the previous 3 to 15 months | Initial targeting of members with back pain visits in recent past is an efficient method of identifying persons with chronic back pain. | |
Random sample of GHC members without visits for back pain within the previous 3 to 15 months | Emphasis placed on recruitment of GHC members to obtain complete treatment utilization and cost data from GHC medical records | |
GHC members responding to an ad in the GHC magazine | ||
Secondary sources | A, TI | |
Random samples of nonmembers of GHC living in Washington state | Nonmembers of GHC included to ensure that recruitment goals are met. | |
Age range 20 to 70 years | Chronic back pain in children is a result of causes different from those we will study. | |
Adults have a higher risk of undiagnosed serious conditions that cause back pain. | ||
Nonspecific, uncomplicated back pain as defined by ICD-9 codes (for primary source only: GHC members with primary care visits for back pain in the previous 3 to 15 months) | These codes are consistent with low back pain that is nonspecific and uncomplicated. | A |
724.2 Lumbago | ||
724.5 Backache, unspecified | ||
724.8 Other symptoms referable to back | ||
846.0-9 Sprains and strains, sacroiliac | ||
847.2 Sprains and strains, lumbar | ||
847.3 Sprains and strains, sacral | ||
847.9 Sprains and strains, unspecified site of the back |