Exploring participant satisfaction with an eHealth intervention for low back pain and knee osteoarthritis: Enhancing physiotherapy access in rural Australia

Isabelle Allworth; Georgina Luscombe; Paulo Ferreira; Carlos Mesa-Castrillon

doi:10.1016/j.msksp.2024.103252

Exploring participant satisfaction with an eHealth intervention for low back pain and knee osteoarthritis: Enhancing physiotherapy access in rural Australia

Musculoskelet Sci Pract. 2025 Jan 9:76:103252. doi: 10.1016/j.msksp.2024.103252. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Isabelle Allworth¹, Georgina Luscombe², Paulo Ferreira³, Carlos Mesa-Castrillon⁴

Affiliations

¹ School of Rural Health, Orange Campus, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Orange, New South Wales, Australia. Electronic address: iall4317@uni.sydney.edu.au.
² School of Rural Health, Orange Campus, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Orange, New South Wales, Australia. Electronic address: Georgina.luscombe@sydney.edu.au.
³ Sydney Musculoskeletal Health, Charles Perkins Centre, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia. Electronic address: Paulo.ferreira@sydney.edu.au.
⁴ School of Rural Health, Orange Campus, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Orange, New South Wales, Australia; Sydney Musculoskeletal Health, Charles Perkins Centre, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia. Electronic address: carlos.mesacastrillon@sydney.edu.au.

PMID: 39805211
DOI: 10.1016/j.msksp.2024.103252

Abstract

Introduction: Accessing health services in rural Australia is challenging and innovative solutions to meet residents' needs are required. Research into eHealth is crucial as it offers potential solutions to these challenges. The study aimed to assess participants' satisfaction and experience with an eHealth physiotherapy intervention at improving physical function for low back pain and knee osteoarthritis in rural Australia.

Methods: Telephone surveys collected data on participant satisfaction and experiences. Satisfaction was rated on a scale of 0-10, and the data was presented descriptively and compared between groups (eHealth and usual care) using Mann-Whitney U tests. Participant experiences with the pilot trial were gathered using open-ended questions, categorised and presented descriptively.

Results: 75/156 (48%) participants responded to the satisfaction survey. Overall satisfaction was significantly higher for the eHealth group, median = 9 [IQR: 8-10] compared with the usual care group, median = 8 [IQR: 5-9] (p = 0.025). Satisfaction was also significantly higher in the eHealth group for all secondary measures in the study, including accessibility to healthcare practitioner (p = 0.001), time to contact physiotherapist (p = 0.011), cost of intervention (p < 0.001) and distance travelled (p < 0.001). For the pilot experiences, inconvenient aspects such as completing forms/administration and travel were significantly higher in the usual care group, while difficulties with exercises, were significantly higher in the eHealth group (p = 0.005).

Conclusions: An eHealth intervention for physiotherapy is acceptable to patients with knee osteoarthritis and low back pain in rural Australia. Future telehealth interventions should pay special attention to participant's exercise workload and motivation.

Keywords: Back pain; Musculoskeletal pain; Osteoarthritis; Physiotherapy; Rural; Telehealth.