Effective Coverage of Rehabilitation for Adults with Chronic Primary Low Back Pain in Uganda

In Uganda, in 2019, 6.8 million people experienced health conditions that are amenable to rehabilitation. This is largely due to musculoskeletal disorders such as low back pain (LBP). Measuring effective coverage of rehabilitation means assessing whether a population that needs rehabilitation services receives the interventions with sufficient quality to produce the desired health gain. This study reports on the first measurement of effective coverage of rehabilitation in Uganda and globally using chronic primary LBP as the tracer health condition. A population survey was conducted to administer the WHO global tracer indicator questions. The survey questions were used to identify respondents with chronic primary LBP experiencing limitations in functioning and to determine utilization of rehabilitation services. The WHO Disability Assessment Schedule (WHODAS) 2.0 12-item was used for the measurement of an improvement in functioning that is meaningful to service users. The questions were nested in the Iganga–Mayuge Health and Demographic Surveillance Site (IMHDSS) update round 22 in seven sub-counties in rural Eastern Uganda between June and September 2023. Data collection followed a training session on survey administration and data capture for enumerators, field supervisors, research managers and lead scientists from the Makerere University Centre for Health and Population Research and a pilot testing of the data collection tool. Survey administration resulted in data collection for 8645 respondents aged 18 years and above. Specifically, 15.2% of the respondents had experienced chronic LBP in the last 12 months, of which 88.5% had experienced pain that was severe enough to affect their usual household, recreational or work activities. A total of 46% of this population in need of rehabilitation had been utilizing rehabilitation services (crude coverage), with no difference between women and men. Only 7.05% of the respondents with chronic primary low back pain experiencing limitations in functioning had been managed with sufficient quality to produce the desired health gain, defined by a minimal but meaningful improvement in functioning (effective coverage).