Can beliefs about musculoskeletal pain and work be changed at the national level? Prospective evaluation of the Danish national Job & Body campaign.

Objectives This study evaluates the Danish national Job & Body campaign on beliefs about musculoskeletal pain and work. Methods Initiated in 2011, a national campaign in Denmark targeted public sector employees with a mixture of networking activities, workplace visits, and a mass media outreach with topics related to job and body (eg, musculoskeletal pain, movement and work) and creating balance between demands at work and physical capacity. At baseline (2011) and at four time points until the end of 2014, random cross-sectional samples of ≥≥1000 representative public sector employees (total N=5012) replied to eight questions concerning beliefs about musculoskeletal pain and work. Changes over time were modelled using general linear models (averaged for all questions, 0-100 points, where 0 is completely negative and 100 completely positive) and logistic regression analyses (for the single questions) controlling for age, gender and a number of work-related factors. Results At the last follow-up in 2014, 17.3% of public sector employees were familiar with the campaign. Beliefs about musculoskeletal pain and work were 3.4 points (95% CI 2.4-4.3) higher than at baseline. For the single questions, 4 out of 8 showed improved odds for more positive beliefs [odds ratios (OR) of 1.28-1.89]. Conclusion During follow-up of the national campaign, beliefs about musculoskeletal pain and work were more positive among public sector employees in Denmark. Due to the time-wise mixture of several campaign activities, the isolated effect of each component could not be disentangled. Whether changes in health occurred remain unknown.