Musculoskeletal care
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Musculoskeletal care · Mar 2009
Clinical TrialPiloting education days for patients with early rheumatoid arthritis and their partners: a multidisciplinary approach.
To develop, pilot, refine and reassess an education day presented by a rheumatology multidisciplinary team (MDT) for recently diagnosed (less than six months) rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients and their partners/carers. ⋯ The development of this 'local' education and information intervention was carried out in line with Medical Research Council guidelines, and the lessons learned from Day 1 informed further development for Day 2. A one-day format for education of early RA involving the rheumatology MDT was rated highly by participants and warrants further examination. Although this study was a small 'local' intervention, its strengths are that it informs the possibility of wider developments of this kind using a MDT.
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Musculoskeletal care · Dec 2008
A Delphi study investigating consensus among expert physiotherapists in relation to the management of low back pain.
Low back pain (LBP) affects a large proportion of the adult population, with over 90% of people expected to experience symptoms associated with it. LBP is one of the most common conditions managed by primary health care practitioners, and physiotherapists are the largest professional group responsible for its management. Clinical guidelines exist for the management of LBP and are based on the best available evidence. However, there is currently no consensus on the actual physiotherapy management of this condition. ⋯ Although the study identified that consensus existed in relation to many aspects of physiotherapy management of LBP, it was also noted that confusion existed in relation to several key areas of practice, highlighting the need for further work.
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Musculoskeletal care · Jun 2008
Developing multidisciplinary guidelines for the management of early rheumatoid arthritis.
To develop an evidence based guideline, for the multidisciplinary management of early rheumatoid arthritis (RA). ⋯ Involvement of the multidisciplinary rheumatology team has enabled a holistic guideline to be developed for the management of patients presenting with early RA. This guideline is based around best practice that is supported by published literature. Whilst most statements in the guideline are based on strong evidence, others have been formulated by expert consensus in the absence of data and should serve as an opportunity to improve current practice through future research and audit. The development and implementation of such a guideline should improve the care of patients with early RA.
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Musculoskeletal care · Jun 2007
ReviewPatient-reported outcome II: selecting appropriate measures for musculoskeletal care.
The first article in this series outlined the important contribution that well developed patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) can make to healthcare, clinical decision making and evaluation. The increasing focus on patient reported health means that there are now hundreds of questionnaires available; selecting the appropriate measure is both challenging and essential. ⋯ Important concepts, such as measurement reliability, validity and responsiveness to important change in health, will be explored and illustrated with examples from musculoskeletal healthcare. Practical properties, such as acceptability and feasibility, will also be introduced.
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Musculoskeletal care · Dec 2006
ReviewPatient-reported outcome I: measuring what matters in musculoskeletal care.
Patients have an important role to play in communicating the impact of disease and the effectiveness of health care. Well-developed patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) can provide a clinically relevant and scientifically rigorous resource for including the patient perspective in decisions about health care and subsequent evaluation. ⋯ The reasons for measuring health, different types of PROMs and potential applications will be discussed. A second article will present important information for users of PROMs to consider when selecting and using PROMs in research, routine practice or quality assurance.