Low back pain (LBP) is the leading contributor to disability globally. It has a substantial impact on the lives of those who experience it, and places considerable economic burden on healthcare systems. Despite these impacts, and the consistency of guideline recommendations, many individuals do not receive recommended LBP management. Structural barriers to accessing timely, evidence-based care, as well as public uncertainty about where to seek appropriate management, can influence the care individuals receive. Telephone and digitally based helplines assist to overcome many traditional barriers to accessing care and offer a scalable platform to improve the delivery of guideline recommended management for LBP. However, uptake of such services can be limited without targeted promotion and patient-centred design. This project aims to codesign, implement and evaluate an upgraded component of an existing Australian helpline service, tailored for people with back pain and supported by a media awareness campaign. This protocol outlines the codesign process, implementation and planned evaluation of the helpline.

This protocol uses three complementary frameworks—an iterative codesign process, the Practical Robust Implementation Sustainability Model, and the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation and Maintenance framework—to guide the codesign and development, implementation and evaluation of an upgraded helpline for people with LBP. The codesign process involves key stakeholders, including consumers and clinicians, to inform the development and implementation of both the upgraded helpline service and the media campaign to raise awareness and uptake of the helpline. Data sources will include a pre–post cohort of helpline service users, routinely collected service data (eg, monthly call rate) and health system data to evaluate the broader population level impact (eg, rates of emergency department presentations for LBP in the Australian region targeted by the media campaign). Implementation evaluation will include Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation and Maintenance as well as internal and external environmental factors that influence the success of these outcome measures.

The project was approved by the University of Sydney’s Human Research Ethics Committee (HE001081). This project involves collaboration with consumers, clinicians and other stakeholders to interpret, translate and disseminate research findings to relevant audiences.