No abstract

Objective: Patients' illness beliefs were shown to be more relevant than other psychosocial factors of influence for predicting outcome in back pain in primary care. The aim of this study was to determine whether illness beliefs and beliefs about rehabilitation are predictors of functioning, pain intensity, and coping with pain after rehabilitation in a population with longstanding chronic back pain. Design and patients: The study included 110 patients with longstanding chronic back pain in a longitudinal study design with 3 measurement points (before rehabilitation, end of rehabilitation, and 6 months follow-up). Methods: Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted to test the relative contribution of illness beliefs and beliefs about rehabilitation to the rehabilitation outcomes while adjusting for baseline values of outcome measures, mental health, sociodemographic, and illness-related variables. Results: Illness beliefs and beliefs about rehabilitation made a significant contribution to the prediction of rehabilitation outcomes. In the short and medium term, incremental variance for coping with pain was as much as 13%, for functioning up to 14%, and for pain intensity between 6% and 9%. Conclusion: Further studies should be conducted as a confirmatory test of our preliminary results and to test the relative relevance of these constructs compared with other yellow flags for chronic patient samples.

The article investigates whether illness beliefs and beliefs about rehabilitation are predictors of short and middle term outcome in depression even when adjustments are made for variables, which are known to be predictors of the course of depression. Within the context of a non-controlled prospective study design, data were analyzed using forced entry hierarchical multiple regression analyses. The sample comprised N = 98 patients. Adjusting for a range of sociodemographic and medical predictors, illness beliefs and beliefs about rehabilitation predict outcome in depression. Illness beliefs and beliefs about rehabilitation are relevant starting points for designing patient-oriented interventions.

The contribution of psychological factors may be different depending on the sample (acute vs. chronic) and the outcome domain. Future research should validate these results with respect to other patient-centered outcomes and in other CLBP samples. (PsycINFO Database Record

The significance of various cognitive and psychosocial factors in the development, progression and persistence of chronic low back pain (CLBP) is well demonstrated. However, only a few studies have addressed CLBP patients' cognitive representations or beliefs about their disease and its treatment. The present study aimed to: (1) describe the illness and treatment beliefs of patients with CLBP, e.g., expected timeline, controllability or treatment related concerns; and (2) explore the relation of these illness and treatment beliefs to individual-, disease- and interaction-related variables. We conducted a cross-sectional survey with N = 201 patients at four inpatient rehabilitation centers. The characteristics of illness and treatment perceptions were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Multiple regression analysis was used to test the associations with disease-related, individual-related and interaction-related variables. The results demonstrated large inter-individual variability in the illness and treatment perceptions among patients with CLBP and pointed to several associations with disease-related variables, patients' personal characteristics and interaction experiences. The variables most strongly related to individuals' perceptions were those reflecting disease severity and individual disease experience. Further research is needed on CLBP patients' illness and treatment perceptions, and these personal disease experiences should be considered when designing new treatment approaches.