Comparability of baseline characteristics
| Key characteristics | n* | Control n=553 | Intervention n=425 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-clinical characteristics | |||
| Age, mean (SD) | 978 | 58.6 (14.6) | 55.6 (15.2) |
| Gender: female, n (%) | 978 | 311 (56.2) | 248 (58.4) |
| Ethnicity: white, n (%) | 958 | 534 (99.3) | 416 (99.1) |
| Employment: in paid work (part-time/full-time)†, n (%) | 966 | 244 (44.4) | 190 (45.2) |
| Extent to which pain has affected performance at work in the past 1 month (0–10 NRS), mean (SD) | 434 | 4.8 (3.2) | 4.9 (3.1) |
| Time off work (past month) due to pain, n (%) | 407 | 74 (32.3) | 54 (30.3) |
| Education: no qualifications, n (%) | 849 | 133 (27.7) | 104 (28.2) |
| Deprivation tertile (Index of Multiple Deprivation), n (%) | 978 | ||
| Most deprived third | 161 (29.1) | 103 (24.2) | |
| Middle third | 184 (33.3 | 145 (34.1) | |
| Least deprived third | 208 (37.6) | 177 (41.7) | |
| Health literacy: finds health information/leaflets difficult to understand, n (%) | 971 | 311 (56.7) | 242 (57.4) |
| Clinical characteristics | |||
| Physical health: SF-36 PCS, mean (SD) | 952 | 35.7 (10.1) | 36.6 (9.9) |
| Mental health: SF-36 MCS, mean (SD) | 952 | 44.4 (13.7) | 42.7 (14.0) |
| Bodily pain past week: severe/very severe, n (%) | 976 | 245 (44.5) | 190 (44.7) |
| Current episode duration: >6 weeks, n (%) | 938 | 386 (73.0) | 312 (76.3) |
| Widespread pain,‡ n (%) | 978 | 193 (34.9) | 137 (32.2) |
| Comorbidities§: for ≥2 other conditions, n (%) | 978 | 333 (60.2) | 241 (56.7) |
| Quality of life: EQ-5D-5L, mean (SD) | 933 | 0.530 (0.27) | 0.521 (0.28) |
| Pain self-efficacy (0–60), mean (SD) | 895 | 33.4 (16.5) | 32.5 (16.3) |
*Nine hundred and seventy-eight participants completed the baseline questionnaire but the number of respondents for each question slightly varies due to missing data and non-applicable cases.
†Majority of those not in paid work (34%) were retired from paid work.
‡Based on the American College of Rheumatology's definition.21
§The conditions include high blood pressure, heart problems, stroke, diabetes, depression or anxiety, osteoporosis, arthritis, asthma or bronchitis, liver disease, cancer and others.
EQ-5D-5L, five-level version of the EuroQoL-5D; NRS, Numerical Rating Scale; SF-36 MCS, 36-item Short Form Mental Component Summary—the higher the score the greater mental health; SF-36 PCS, 36-item Short Form Physical Component Summary—the higher the score the greater physical health. Pain self-efficacy scale: 10-item scale, score range=0–60 (0=not at all confident, 60=completely confident despite pain).