The beliefs of healthcare students about the harmfulness of daily activities for their back: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Aim: To investigate the beliefs of healthcare students about how harmful common daily activities are perceived to be for their lower back. Method: A cross-sectional survey of Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy and General Nursing pre-registration students in Ireland. Two hundred and forty two students completed the modified Photograph Series of Daily Activities survey to ascertain their low back pain beliefs. Beliefs were compared between those in different programmes using one-way ANCOVA (post hoc Bonferroni). Results: Physiotherapy students (n = 115) had significantly more positive beliefs (lower scores) than Occupational Therapy (n = 48) and General Nursing (n = 79) students (p