Perceptions of contextual factors during chronic low back pain care: a modified Delphi study

Sherriff, Bronwyn, Clark, Carol, Killingback, Clare and Newell, David (2025) Perceptions of contextual factors during chronic low back pain care: a modified Delphi study.

This dataset contains anonymised data from a modified two-round Delphi study exploring UK musculoskeletal (MSK) practitioners’ perceptions of contextual factors (CFs) that may influence outcomes in the clinical management of chronic low back pain (cLBP). The study was conducted as part of a doctoral research project. Round 1 (n = 39) included 64 CF-related statements and open-ended questions, while Round 2 (n = 23) featured 74 refined statements rated using a 5-point Likert scale. Participants were qualified MSK practitioners (physiotherapists, chiropractors, osteopaths, or sports therapists) with a minimum of three years’ clinical experience treating cLBP. Data were collected via the JISC online surveys platform and analysed using descriptive statistics to assess group-level consensus. The dataset includes: (a) two Excel files containing anonymised participant responses for each Delphi round; (b) two corresponding coding keys explaining all variables and response categories; and (c) one README document outlining key study information. The data may support future research on chronic low back pain, contextual factors, practitioner perceptions, and Delphi consensus methods. If using or citing the dataset, please reference the associated publication: Sherriff, B., Clark, C., Killingback, C., & Newell, D. (2023). Musculoskeletal practitioners’ perceptions of contextual factors that may influence chronic low back pain outcomes: a modified Delphi study. Chiropractic & Manual Therapies, 31(1), 12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12998-023-00482-4