Are Student-Led Physiotherapy Clinics a Feasible Service Delivery Method for Supported Self-Management Interventions in Low Back Pain Populations

Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to discover if student led clinics (SLC) are feasible delivery mechanisms for Low back pain (LBP) self-management support and to develop a service model.

Background
LBP is the most commonly reported musculoskeletal disorder worldwide. The increasing service and workforce demands of LBP are challenging for providers and policy makers. self-management is appropriate for many people living with LBP yet guidance for self-management is lacking. One potential delivery mechanism is through SLC. These are ‘clinics’ run by students, supervised by clinicians.

Methods and Results
A scoping review has found that SLC can be effective for supporting self-management of various long-term conditions and can provide cost benefits compared with traditional clinical services. In principle, their use for providing LBP services could have similar advantages as well as mitigating the clinical placement shortage. A further scoping review of self-management support for LBP was used to develop a model for student-led LBP clinics.

The proposed model is a student led LBP supported self-management service. The service users will be triaged using the Psychosocial Flags Framework to identify obstacles to participation, followed by 1–6 sessions of self-management support comprising of; 1) empathetic listening and education to build a therapeutic relationship and to dispel LBP myths; 2) collaboratively setting meaningful goals; 3) imparting knowledge and skills to overcome the identified obstacles; 4) developing an evidence-informed plan for self-management, agreed with relevant stakeholders.

Conclusion
Previous experience and the evidence-base suggest that SLC are feasible for delivering self-management support for LBP.