This report presents results from one part of a broader study designed to develop a methodology to integrate patient-reported outcomes, patient preferences, and costs into the appropriateness panel process. It describes the results and methodology of convened panels of neck pain experts who met to discuss and rate appropriateness of 186 indications for spinal manipulation and mobilization for chronic neck pain.

Determining the Appropriateness of Spinal Manipulation and Mobilization for Chronic Neck Pain

Indications and Ratings by a Multidisciplinary Expert Panel

Ian D. Coulter, Margaret D. Whitley, Howard Vernon, Eric Hurwitz, Paul G. Shekelle, Patricia M. Herman

ResearchPublished Jul 24, 2018

The approach developed by researchers at the RAND Corporation for assessing the appropriateness of health care makes it feasible to take the best of what is known from research and apply it — using the expertise of experienced clinicians — over the wide range of patients and health problems seen in real-world clinical practice. The major limitation of the RAND approach is that it utilizes a limited definition of appropriateness that that relies heavily on safety, efficacy, and effectiveness. This report, which focuses on appropriateness of indications for spinal manipulation and mobilization for chronic neck pain, presents results from one part of a broader study designed to develop a methodology to integrate patient-reported outcomes, patient preferences, and cost into the appropriateness panel process. It describes the results and methodology of convened panels of neck pain experts who met to discuss and rate appropriateness of 186 indications for spinal manipulation and mobilization for chronic neck pain, and serves four objectives: (1) Describe the methodology of the process of obtaining appropriateness ratings that can be used later to calculate rates of appropriate care and can be replicated by other studies; (2) provide the list of actual indications used in this study so that future studies can use them or adapt them without going through the extensive and costly process we did; (3) provide further data on the modified Delphi process for generating consensus by exploring whether ratings of appropriateness changed between rounds and whether agreement or disagreement went up after panelists met face to face; and (4) present final ratings of the appropriateness of manipulation and mobilization for neck pain for 186 indications.

Key Findings

The methodology involved a literature review and panel assessments.

  • To determine the appropriateness of manipulation and mobilization for chronic neck pain, we convened a nine-member modified-Delphi panel of clinicians.
  • The initial ratings of appropriateness were made individually and without group discussion.
  • The second-round ratings followed a structured face-to-face method that was based on procedures often used to bring people closer to consensus or agreement.
  • The project staff compiled the initial indications list using a literature review, the advice of chiropractors and an internist, and a list of indications created for an earlier study on manipulation for neck pain.

The panel rated 186 indications to assess the appropriateness of manipulation and mobilization for chronic neck pain.

  • There was agreement among the panelists for 13.3 percent to 37.0 percent of indications.
  • The average median appropriateness ratings ranged from 3.9 to 4.7 on a nine-point scale, and 8.6 percent to 20.4 percent of indications were rated appropriate.
  • Appropriateness ratings for mobilization were higher than the ratings for manipulation.
  • Panelists agreed on the ratings for between 33.9 percent and 44.1 percent of the indications.
  • Rates of agreement increased after panelists met to discuss the issues.

Topics

Document Details

Citation

RAND Style Manual
Coulter, Ian D., Margaret D. Whitley, Howard Vernon, Eric Hurwitz, Paul G. Shekelle, and Patricia M. Herman, Determining the Appropriateness of Spinal Manipulation and Mobilization for Chronic Neck Pain: Indications and Ratings by a Multidisciplinary Expert Panel, RAND Corporation, RR-2476-NCCIH, 2018. As of September 19, 2024: https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR2476.html
Chicago Manual of Style
Coulter, Ian D., Margaret D. Whitley, Howard Vernon, Eric Hurwitz, Paul G. Shekelle, and Patricia M. Herman, Determining the Appropriateness of Spinal Manipulation and Mobilization for Chronic Neck Pain: Indications and Ratings by a Multidisciplinary Expert Panel. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2018. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR2476.html.
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The research described in this report was funded by by a cooperative agreement from the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health and conducted through a joint undertaking of RAND Health; the University of California, Los Angeles; and the Samueli Institute.

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