Recently we alerted you to a new initiative for collaboration between clinical researchers and clinicians to assist potential collaboration between clinicians and clinical researchers for proposed research studies. We have a new study from Keele University (UK) looking for expert shoulder clinicians to collaborate in their study which aims to identify the patient attributes that may affect outcome of three commonly used interventions for patients with a musculoskeletal shoulder disorder.
Study Title: Musculoskeletal Shoulder Disorders: Which Treatment for Whom? – Expert Consensus Workshops.
Study purpose: To identify the patient attributes (personal, clinical, physical, & diagnostic) that may affect outcome of three commonly used interventions for patients with a musculoskeletal shoulder disorder:
- Advice, education and pain relief
- Physiotherapy (exercise +/- manual therapy) and
- Joint injection.
Inclusion Criteria: Expert shoulder clinicians (physiotherapists, GP’s, orthopaedic surgeons, and rheumatologists) who:
- Are based in the U.K.
- Clinically manage patients with shoulder disorders
- Have a clinical or research interest in the clinical management of shoulder disorders
Exclusion Criteria: Non-expert or other clinicians, patients or other unqualified members of the public or those not based in the UK.
Data Capture: Two evening expert consensus workshops, based at ARUK Primary Care Centre, Keele University. The first workshop is planned for Wednesday, 3rd April 2013.Clinician Responsibilities: Clinicians will be asked to provide informed consent to partake in each 2-hour evening workshop at Keele. A light evening meal and refreshments will be provided and travel expenses will be reimbursed. Clinicians will be asked to consider their recent treatment decision-making and/or referral habits for patients with a shoulder disorder. Clinicians will be asked to prepare two short annoymised case vignettes (i.e., a paper patient where the patients’ attributes including presentation, history, clinical findings are described) of patients seen in clinical practice and then referred on to or provided with (i) physiotherapy and (ii) joint injection, confident that the patient would achieve a positive clinical outcome. These case vignettes will be the basis of small group discussions to identify the patient attributes that guide or influence treatment decision-making. Clinicians will vote on the importance of all attributes raised by the group. Clinicians will consider all of the attributes as a group and collectively combine the attributes into profiles of the ideal responder to each of the three aforementioned treatment options.
Qualifications for Authorship: Contributing clinicians will be acknowledged in any publications arising from these workshops but will not be listed as authors under the ICJME guidelines for academic authorship: 1) substantial contributions to conception and design, acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data; 2) contribute to drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content; and 3) final approval of the version to be published.
Contact Person: Cliona McRobert email: [email protected]
This is an exciting opportunity to expand the collaboration between clinical researchers and clinicians, and to promote research within our profession. If you are interested in taking part in this study please contact Cliona McRobert directly by email. If you are a clinical researcher and are looking for clinicians to get involved in your trial please email us your future study under the above headings.