Table 1. Baseline Characteristics of Study Participants.
| Characteristic | Participants, No. (%) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All (n = 294) | Usual care group (n = 97)a | App group (n = 99)b | e-Help group (n = 98)c | |
| Sociodemographic characteristics | ||||
| Age, mean (SD) [range], y | 50.6 (14.9) [18-86] | 51.0 (15.2) [18-84] | 50.3 (14.3) [18-80] | 50.4 (15.1) [20-86] |
| BMI, mean (SD) [range] | 26.8 (4.2) [17-41] | 26.7 (4.2) [19-40] | 26.9 (4.0) [19-39] | 26.8 (4.4) [17-40] |
| Sex | ||||
| Female | 173 (58.8) | 58 (59.8) | 60 (60.6) | 55 (56.1) |
| Male | 121 (41.2) | 39 (40.2) | 39 (39.4) | 43 (43.9) |
| Educational level, y | ||||
| <10 | 26 (8.8) | 7 (7.2) | 10 (10.1) | 9 (9.2) |
| 10-12 | 88 (29.9) | 31 (32.0) | 28 (28.3) | 29 (29.6) |
| >12 | 180 (61.2) | 59 (60.8) | 61 (61.6) | 60 (61.2) |
| Full-time employment | 158 (53.7) | 47 (48.5) | 57 (57.6) | 54 (55.1) |
| Married or living with partner | 221 (75.2) | 72 (74.2) | 72 (72.7) | 77 (78.6) |
| Neck and low back pain history | ||||
| Pain localization | ||||
| Low back | 166 (56.5) | 53 (54.6) | 52 (52.5) | 61 (62.2) |
| Neck | 46 (15.6) | 13 (13.4) | 18 (18.2) | 22 (22.4) |
| Neck and low back | 82 (27.9) | 31 (32.0) | 29 (29.3) | 15 (15.3) |
| Days with pain in past year | ||||
| 0 | 2 (0.7) | 1 (1.0) | 1 (1.0) | 0 |
| 1-7 | 5 (1.7) | 1 (1.0) | 1 (1.0) | 3 (3.1) |
| 8-30 | 16 (5.4) | 7 (7.2) | 5 (5.1) | 4 (4.1) |
| >30 but not every day | 89 (30.3) | 24 (24.7) | 38 (38.4) | 27 (27.6) |
| Every day | 182 (61.9) | 64 (66.0) | 54 (54.5) | 64 (65.3) |
| Use of pain medication, d/wk | ||||
| 0 | 93 (31.6) | 36 (37.1) | 28 (28.3) | 29 (29.6) |
| 1-2 | 69 (23.5) | 17 (17.5) | 20 (20.2) | 32 (32.7) |
| 3-5 | 61 (20.7) | 21 (21.6) | 22 (22.2) | 18 (18.4) |
| Every day | 71 (24.1) | 23 (23.7) | 29 (29.3) | 19 (19.4) |
| Baseline measure of primary outcome | ||||
| Musculoskeletal Health Questionnaire, mean (SD)d | 29.2 (8.5) | 29.0 (9.0) | 30.0 (9.1) | 28.5 (7.1) |
| Baseline measures of secondary outcomes | ||||
| Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire, mean (SD)e,f | 10.9 (5.1) | 11.1 (5.0) | 10.1 (5.3) | 11.5 (4.9) |
| Neck Disability Index, mean (SD)g,h | 18.3 (7.0) | 17.8 (6.7) | 18.1 (7.8) | 19.1 (6.0) |
| Mean pain intensity in past wk (NRS), mean (SD)i | 5.4 (1.8) | 5.4 (1.8) | 5.3 (2.0) | 5.6 (1.6) |
| Worst pain intensity in past wk (NRS), mean (SD)i | 7.0 (1.8) | 6.9 (1.9) | 6.8 (2.0) | 7.2 (1.5) |
| EQ-VAS, mean (SD)j | 53.0 (18.6) | 50.7 (19.3) | 55.7 (18.0) | 52.5 (18.2) |
| EQ-5D (weighted), mean (SD)k | 0.64 (0.15) | 0.63 (0.14) | 0.65 (0.17) | 0.63 (0.14) |
| Pain Self-Efficacy Questionnaire, mean (SD)l | 36.8 (13.3) | 36.9 (13.1) | 38.0 (13.1) | 35.5 (13.6) |
| Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire, mean (SD)m | 51.2 (9.2) | 52.2 (8.4) | 51.3 (9.4) | 50.2 (9.7) |
Abbreviations: BMI, body mass index (calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared); EQ-5D, EuroQoL 5-dimension questionnaire; EQ-VAS, EuroQol visual analog scale; NRS, numerical rating scale.
The usual care group received usual care only. Usual care comprised a clinical examination and an offer of suitable treatment in accordance with current evidence-based guidelines.
The app group received individually tailored app-delivered self-management support in addition to usual care.
The e-Help group received nontailored web-based self-management support in addition to usual care.
Score range, 0 to 56, with higher scores indicating better musculoskeletal health.
Score range, 0 to 24, with higher scores indicating more pain-related disability.
Includes 248 participants with low back pain or neck and low back pain (84 in the usual care group, 81 in the app group, and 83 in the e-Help group).
Score range, 0 to 50, with higher scores indicating more pain-related disability.
Includes 128 participants with neck pain or neck and low back pain (44 in the usual care group, 47 in the app group, and 37 in the e-Help group).
Scale range, 0 to 10, with higher scores indicating higher intensity level of pain.
Scale range, 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating better health status.
Score range, 0 to 1, with higher scores indicating better health status.
Score range, 0 to 60, with higher scores indicating greater confidence.
Score range, 0 to 80, with higher scores indicating greater illness perception.