Rheumatology Research center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, North Amirabad street, Tehran, 1411713137, Iran.
Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
BMC Health Serv Res. 2020 Sep 17;20(1):879. doi: 10.1186/s12913-020-05727-z.
Low back pain (LBP) is a major contributor to chronic pain and disability. The purpose of this study was to evaluate health-care access and utilization among patients with LBP in Iran. We also sought to study the pattern and characteristics of care-utilization behavior in these patients.
Data from the Community Oriented Program for Control of Rheumatic Diseases (COPCORD) were used for this study. Three cities (Zahedan, Sanandaj, Yazd) were selected to represent the Iranian population, with different socioeconomic status and ethnic, cultural, and religious background. Demographic data, acute or chronic LBP, disability index, and utilizing care from conventional medicine (CM), allied health providers (AHP), and complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) providers were recorded.
Of 9101 patients, 38.6% reported LBP. Only 3.3% did not utilize care of any kind, 66.7% referred to CM providers, 20.8% to AHP, and 9.2% to CAM care. Health-care utilization was higher in female patients, older age, higher education, and higher disability index.
The findings of this study indicate a high rate of health-care utilization among patients with LBP in Iran. CM is the most prevalent health-care resource sought by patients. These findings could be used as a framework in developing more efficient health-care programs according to the needs of specific populations.
下腰痛（LBP）是慢性疼痛和残疾的主要原因。本研究旨在评估伊朗 LBP 患者的医疗保健获取和利用情况。我们还试图研究这些患者的护理利用行为模式和特征。
本研究使用了社区为基础的控制风湿性疾病项目（COPCORD）的数据。选择了三个城市（扎黑丹、赞詹、亚兹德）来代表伊朗人口，它们具有不同的社会经济地位以及民族、文化和宗教背景。记录了人口统计学数据、急性或慢性 LBP、残疾指数以及从常规医学（CM）、辅助卫生提供者（AHP）和补充与替代医学（CAM）提供者那里获得的护理。
在 9101 名患者中，38.6%报告有 LBP。只有 3.3%的患者没有接受任何形式的护理，66.7%的患者就诊于 CM 提供者，20.8%的患者就诊于 AHP，9.2%的患者就诊于 CAM 护理。女性患者、年龄较大、受教育程度较高和残疾指数较高的患者更倾向于寻求医疗保健。
本研究的结果表明，伊朗 LBP 患者的医疗保健利用率较高。CM 是患者寻求的最常见的医疗保健资源。这些发现可作为根据特定人群的需求制定更有效的医疗保健计划的框架。
