Levels of disability as correlates of economic burden in patients with chronic low back pain: outpatient physiotherapy attendance in perspective

Abstract

Background: Chronic low back pain (CLBP) is usually accompanied by various levels of disability and cost variables. The management of CLBP is often bereft of cost evaluation regarding physiotherapy outpatient attendance.
Objective: This study aimed to estimate the cost borne by patients with CLBP during outpatient physiotherapy attendance
Methods: Fifty-six patients with CLBP were purposively sampled in the cross-sectional survey at three hospitals in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. The levels of disability were classified with Oswestry Low Back Pain Disability Index whilst the costs borne by the patients were estimated with the economic burden of the low back pain questionnaire. Data were summarized descriptively with frequency, mean, range and standard deviations. A crude linear relationship between the costs and levels of disability was determined with Spearman’s correlation coefficient at a p < 0.05 level of significance.
Results: The age range of the participants was 26 – 60 years (mean = 47.1 ± 10.1 years), and they comprised 32 females and 24 males. Twenty-five (44.6%) of the participants reported a moderate level of disability compared to 14 (25%) of them with severe disability. The monthly direct and indirect costs were GH¢ 1139.1 ± 860.0 and GH¢ 317.4 ± 318.8 respectively. The economic burden of care amounted to GH¢ 1405.5 ± 907.7. There was a significant and direct correlation (rs = 0.286; p = 0.032) between the levels of disability and the overall monthly expenditures on the economic burden of care during physiotherapy attendance.
Conclusion: Our findings indicate that the economic burden experienced by patients with CLBP could be influenced by their levels of disability. These findings underscore ideas for formulating initiatives toward improving the cost of illness alleviation.