Problem statement.
The recent global burden of disease study showed that low back pain is the most significant contributor to years lived with disability and disability-adjusted life years in Europe. Moreover, low back pain is one of the most common reasons for activity limitation, sick leave, and work disability. In addition to the suffering of affected individuals, low back pain poses an enormous economic burden on the European economy and this burden is expected to increase as the European population ages.
European evidence-based guidelines for the management of non-specific low back pain were developed by an expert working group in 2005. These guidelines have later been adopted and refined by several European countries to offer the best practice and advice to manage low back pain.
In this project we will develop a decision support system - SELFBACK - to facilitate, improve and reinforce self-management of non-specific low back pain. The decision support will be conveyed to the person via a smartphone app in the form of advice for self-management.
