Training health professionals: a comparison of two methods

INTERVENTION: Control A 1.5 day face‐to‐face training course delivered by a physiotherapist specialising in CBT, who developed the BeST intervention. Participants will also have access to a website where they can download additional forms, such as patient packs or the therapist manual. Therefore this intervention arm will mirror the training that participants received during the BeST trial itself. The online course will consist of the same content as this course, delivered though a different medium. Intervention: An on‐line training programme with identical content to that given in the control arm, adapted to be delivered over the internet. Participants have three weeks to complete the on‐line course, which is expected to take between 8‐10 hours to complete. CONDITION: Training health professionals to deliver a previously evaluated intervention for the treatment of low back pain ; Not Applicable PRIMARY OUTCOME: Therapist competence in delivering the BeST intervention to patients is measured using the Cognitive Therapy Scale Revised ? Pain tool (CTS‐R‐Pain). SECONDARY OUTCOME: 1. Participant preference for the intervention or control arm will be recorded prior to randomisation; 2. A MCQ, developed from the BeST training material, will be used to assess health care professionals? knowledge post intervention.; 3. Therapists? self‐efficacy will be measured using a specific self‐efficacy scale. Self‐efficacy is a belief in one?s ability to achieve a result or perform a specific task and correlates well with motivation and behaviour (Lorig et al, 1996).; 4. Satisfaction and acceptance of the intervention will also be assessed using a self‐developed MCQ.; ; User log‐ins, duration of log‐ins and materials accessed will also be monitored and recorded for participants in the i‐BeST group. INCLUSION CRITERIA: 1. Health care professional in employment 2. Access to/work with sub‐acute/chronic LBP population 3. Have the resources (time and space) to run the BeST groups 4. To be able to make the necessary care pathway changes in order implement the individual assessments and 6 group sessions 5. Access to a computer either at home or at work for completion of the i‐BeST program 6. Must be willing to attend workshop for training on a pre‐specified date 7. Be willing to receive either form of training