Training peers to support older people with chronic low back pain following physiotherapy discharge: a feasibility study

Objectives: To determine the feasibility and acceptability of a training programme for peer volunteers to support older adults with chronic low back pain (CLBP) following discharge from physiotherapy. Design Feasibility study. Setting Community-based. Participants 17 adults (4 male, 13 female) with CLBP or experience of supporting someone with CLBP enrolled and 12 (2 male, 10 female) completed the volunteer training. Intervention Volunteers took part in a face-to-face or blended delivery peer support training programme based on the Mental Health Foundation's "Principles into Practice" and adapted for CLBP by the study team. Main outcome measures Recruitment/retention rates; demographics; time & resources used to deliver training; training evaluation (questionnaire); knowledge questionnaire, and self-efficacy questionnaire. Results 17 participants enrolled on the training programme (11 face-to-face, 6 blended delivery). 12 (71%) completed the training (73% face-to-face, 67% blended delivery). The training was positively evaluated. All but two participants passed the knowledge quiz at the end of the training, and the majority of self-efficacy scores (90%) were high. Conclusions It is feasible to develop, implement and evaluate a peer support training programme for the facilitation of CLBP self-management in older adults following discharge from physiotherapy. Blended delivery of training may facilitate the recruitment of greater numbers of peer support volunteers in future studies. Supported self-management of CLBP pain is widely recommended but can be difficult to achieve. Peer support might be a promising method of facilitating CLBP self-management without additional burden to health services, and should be further evaluated in a larger study. (C) 2017 Chartered Society of Physiotherapy. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.