Illness beliefs, treatment beliefs and information needs as starting points for patient information--evaluation of an intervention for patients with chronic back pain.

Objective: The objective of the study was to evaluate an intervention which applied the extended Common Sense Model to the provision of information about illness and treatment during inpatient rehabilitation for patients with chronic back pain.

Methods: The intervention was evaluated in a sequential control group design (control group N=105; intervention group N=96). Changes with respect to illness and treatment beliefs, satisfaction with information, and health status at the end of rehabilitation were selected as outcome measures. Analyses of covariance were used to assess differences between control and intervention group.

Results: Significant time-by-group interactions were shown for causal beliefs, personal control, satisfaction with information about illness and rehabilitation, and for general health. All time-by-group interactions indicated superiority of the intervention group.

Conclusion: The intervention group assessed their back pain as personally controllable and their information needs at the end of rehabilitation as being met to a greater extent than did patients who received care as usual.

Practice Implications: The extended Common Sense Model seems promising as a frame for discussing illness and treatment perceptions as well as information needs in patients with chronic back pain.