“If I could hear my back…” – a two-year follow-up effectiveness study

• Autor(a) principal: Noronha, Teresinha Marques
• Data de Publicação: 2011
• Outros Autores: Vital, Emanuel Nunes
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: https://doi.org/10.25758/set.314
• topic: Raquialgias; Mochila; Adolescentes; Promoção da saúde; Back pain; Backpack; Adolescents; Health promotion

Background – The prevention of back pain in children and adolescents is a growing scientific field, where evidence is still limited. The sustainability and development of health promotion programmes should be supported by effectiveness studies. Aim – To evaluate the effectiveness of the program “Se as minhas costas falassem…” (translation: “If my back could talk…”) two years after their implementation. Methods – Longitudinal study with comparative analysis of data. Sample: the 7th-grade student population (N=584) of Caldas da Rainha municipality region, which corresponds to the 5th-grade students of the 2006/07 school year. Results – In the knowledge dimension, no significant losses were found. Complaints of back pain were reported by about 40% of the students, and 63,9% of those referred to the “backpack weight” as the main cause of complaint. A reduction in the percentage of students carrying heavy backpacks was found, and there was an increase in students carrying backpacks better adjusted to their backs. Discussion and Conclusion – The results confirm other studies that evaluated the effectiveness of the program “Se as minhas costas falassem…” The maintenance of the behaviour changes two years after the implementation of the program confirms the capacity of the students to adopt health protective behaviours, and consolidates the effectiveness of this health promotion program. We recommend, however, that schools should strive to offer the necessary conditions for the students to effectively apply the competencies acquired in this health promotion program that demands behavioural changes. The evidence on the effectiveness of this program, reported in several studies, should support and guide the decision-makers to integrate, in the health programmes, the health of the “back”.