Effect of a Digital Pain Education Material on Beliefs and Attitudes about Low Back Pain in the General Community: Study Protocol for a Web-Based Randomised Controlled Trial

Background Promoting appropriate beliefs and attitudes about low back pain (LBP) in the community is a promising component of an educational strategy to aid the management of LBP. Objective We aim to investigate whether a digital pain education material improved LBP beliefs and attitudes of community consumers; to identify whether e-health literacy and pain self-efficacy are associated with changes in beliefs; to verify whether this exposure generates changes in pain self-efficacy in people with LBP. Methods The study was approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee from the Federal University of Ceara (5.336.455/2022) and registered at The Brazilian Registry of Clinical Trials (ReBEC - RBR-10kpgx78). We projected the conduction of a web-based randomised controlled trial with adults, randomised to one of two digital educational content packages: 1) digital LBP education materials; 2) general health information. The primary outcome was beliefs and attitudes about LBP (Back Pain Attitude Questionnaire); secondary outcomes were e-health literacy (eHealth Literacy Scale) and self-efficacy (Pain Self-Efficacy Questionnaire). Outcomes were measured at baseline, immediate and eight weeks post-exposure. Mixed linear models will be used to estimate between-group differences. Recruitment started in December 2022 and data collection was completed in December 2023. Conclusion The study is innovative because the design allows the investigation of the effect of digital material on the beliefs about LBP in Brazilian people. The results can contribute to exploring the potential of digital mass health campaigns about LBP.