title: Medical research on a complaint: orientation and priorities.
abstract: Low back pain as a research topic has been treated in this symposium, as in other contexts, as though it were an illness. It is, however, a complaint - and as such, even, potentially not a genuine one. Appreciation of the true character of back pain is essential for the proper orientation and setting of priorities for medical research as these flow from general principles of medical research in the domain of a complaint.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
authors.forename: O S
authors.initials: OS
authors.lastname: Miettinen
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Caro
mesh_terms: D001416:Back Pain / Q000175:diagnosis; D006801:Humans; D012106:Research; D012107:Research Design