• Anna Berenguera, Enriqueta Pujol-Ribera, Teresa Rodriguez-Blanco, Concepció Violan, Marc Casajuana, Nelleke de Kort, and Marta Trapero-Bertran.
• Institut Universitari d'Investigació en Atenció Primària Jordi Gol (IDIAP Jordi Gol), Institut Català de la Salut, C/Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes 587 àtic, 08007 Barcelona, Spain.
• Bmc Musculoskel Dis. 2011 Jan 1;12:194.

BackgroundLow back pain (LBP), with high incidence and prevalence rate, is one of the most common reasons to consult the health system and is responsible for a significant amount of sick leave, leading to high health and social costs. The objective of the study is to assess the cost-effectiveness and cost-utility analysis of a multidisciplinary biopsychosocial educational group intervention (MBEGI) of non-specific sub-acute LBP in comparison with the usual care in the working population recruited in primary healthcare centres.Methods/DesignThe study design is a cost-effectiveness and cost-utility analysis of a MBEGI in comparison with the usual care of non-specific sub-acute LBP.Measures on effectiveness and costs of both interventions will be obtained from a cluster randomised controlled clinical trial carried out in 38 Catalan primary health care centres, enrolling 932 patients between 18 and 65 years old with a diagnosis of non-specific sub-acute LBP. Effectiveness measures are: pharmaceutical treatments, work sick leave (% and duration in days), Roland Morris disability, McGill pain intensity, Fear Avoidance Beliefs (FAB) and Golberg Questionnaires. Utility measures will be calculated from the SF-12. The analysis will be performed from a social perspective. The temporal horizon is at 3 months (change to chronic LBP) and 12 months (evaluate the outcomes at long term).Assessment of outcomes will be blinded and will follow the intention-to-treat principle.DiscussionWe hope to demonstrate the cost-effectiveness and cost-utility of MBEGI, see an improvement in the patients' quality of life, achieve a reduction in the duration of episodes and the chronicity of non-specific low back pain, and be able to report a decrease in the social costs. If the intervention is cost-effectiveness and cost-utility, it could be applied to Primary Health Care Centres.Trial RegistrationISRCTN: ISRCTN58719694.

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