Long-term evaluation of a Canadian back pain mass media campaign

Purpose: This paper evaluates the long-term impact of a Canadian mass media campaign on general public beliefs about staying active when experiencing low back pain (LBP). Methods: Changes in beliefs about staying active during an episode of LBP were studied using telephone and web-based surveys. Logistic regression analysis was used to investigate changes in beliefs over time and the effect of exposure to campaign messaging. Results: The percentage of survey respondents agreeing that they should stay active through LBP increased annually from 58.9 to ~72.0%. Respondents reporting exposure to campaign messaging were statistically significantly more likely to agree with staying active than respondents who did not report exposure to campaign messaging (adjusted OR, 95% CI = 1.96, 1.73–2.21). Conclusion: The mass media campaign had continued impact on public LBP beliefs over the course of 7 years. Improvements over time were associated with exposure to campaign messaging.