Development of a Person-Centred Coordinated Care Pathway in Swedish Healthcare for Low Back Pain

TL;DR

This paper describes the development of a coordinated care pathway for low back pain in Sweden, involving healthcare professionals, researchers, and patients to improve care quality.

Contribution

The study introduces a novel, person-centred coordinated care pathway for low back pain, integrating scientific evidence and stakeholder perspectives.

Findings

A national working group developed a care pathway involving all regional healthcare organizations in Sweden.

The pathway integrates evidence-based clinical recommendations and patient experiences to guide care.

The methodology offers a feasible model for international application in managing low back pain.

Abstract

This project aimed to develop a Person-Centred Co-ordinated Care (P3C) pathway for low back pain (LBP).

A national working group was formed consisting of representatives from all regional healthcare organisations in Sweden and included all relevant healthcare professions, academia, and patient organisations. A mixed method iterative design and consensus approach was applied in the development of the P3C pathway.

As a foundation, patient interviews along with a review of literature were conducted investigating the evidence base for healthcare interventions, earlier regional care programs/pathways and guidelines in Sweden as well as patient experiences and challenges with healthcare for LBP. Updated evidence-based clinical recommendations, tools supporting the practical use of the national P3C pathway and national healthcare data registry-based quality outcome indicators were then developed. Thereafter, an open consultation period provided review and feedback for final revisions and consensus.

Essential factors for integrating best praxis according to scientific evidence and patient and healthcare professional perspectives were identified to establish a Swedish national P3C pathway for LBP. This provides a novel and innovative example of feasible methodology applicable in the international context. Future research will evaluate potential improvements in healthcare quality outcomes and effectiveness of dissemination and implementation strategies.

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