Guiding curriculum content for primary care
The low back pain curriculum content standards (LBP-CCS) have been designed for academic programs that provide entry-level education for healthcare professionals.
These standards aim to guide the development or review of curriculum content related to the management of low back pain in primary care.
The standards were developed by a team of academics, clinicians, consumers and researchers, including representatives from 11 different countries and across a range of healthcare professions.
Steering group
- Dr Hazel Jenkins
- Professor Mark Hancock
- Dr Benjamin Brown
- Dr Mary O’Keefe (Institute of Musculoskeletal Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney Musculoskeletal Health)
- Associate Professor Niamh Moloney (University of Auckland, New Zealand)
- Professor Chris Maher (Institute of Musculoskeletal Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney Musculoskeletal Health)
Working group
| Member | Specialty/area | Country |
|---|---|---|
| Fiona Blyth | Medicine – general practice | Australia |
| Dawn Carnes | Osteopathy | England |
| Chad Cook | Physiotherapy | America |
| Ben Darlow | Physiotherapy, primary health care | New Zealand |
| Renee de Ruijter | Physiotherapy | Switzerland |
| Julie Fritz | Physiotherapy | America |
| Brona Fullen | Physiotherapy | Ireland |
| Doug Gross | Physiotherapy | Canada |
| Jill Hayden | Chiropractic | Canada |
| Jonathan Hill | Physiotherapy | England |
| Jaro Karppinen | Medicine – physical and rehabilitation medicine | Finland |
| Greg Kawchuk | Chiropractic | Canada |
| Alice Kongsted | Chiropractic | Denmark |
| Deborah Kopansky-Giles | Chiropractic | Canada |
| Henrik Hein Lauridsen | Chiropractic | Denmark |
| Michael Lee | Chiropractic, physiotherapy | Australia |
| Quinette Louw | Physiotherapy | South Africa |
| Kerry Mace | Consumer | Australia |
| James McAuley | Psychology | Australia |
| Andrew McLachlan | Pharmacy | Australia |
| Chris Mercer | Physiotherapy | England |
| Peter O’Sullivan | Physiotherapy | Australia |
| Sue Reid | Physiotherapy | Australia |
| Anna Ryan | Medicine chiropractic | Australia |
| Paolo Sanzo | Physiotherapy | Canada |
| Edward Vresilovic | Medicine – orthopaedic surgery | America |
| Arnold Wong | Physiotherapy | Hong Kong |
Using the LBP-CCS will help ensure that students graduating from entry-level education for healthcare professionals can:
- describe the epidemiology and public health impact of low back pain based on the current evidence, and explain the burden associated with low back pain in a local and global context, and with consideration of different populations.
- apply the biopsychosocial model to assess individuals with low back pain to:
- classify individual low back pain presentations and exclude serious underlying pathology
- identify relevant contributors to acute, sub-acute, persistent or recurrent pain and disability.
- communicate effectively with the patient and other support figures (eg family, workplace, health care providers, insurers) in a dialogue about the low back pain presentation (including patient beliefs, goals and concerns), prognosis and the proposed management plan.
- develop and implement a safe and effective person-centred management plan that:
- addresses the individual’s goals and preferences
- is based on the patient’s individual assessment findings and the best available evidence
- considers cultural and biopsychosocial factors
- includes the development of effective self-management strategies.
- evaluate the patient’s progress using appropriate outcome measures to assess individual patient goals and adapt the management plan accordingly, including providing referral to other healthcare practitioners as appropriate.
- describe the evidence behind primary, secondary and tertiary prevention strategies, and how to support low back pain prevention in healthcare settings and the community, including self-management strategies.