Rationale, design and methods of the Study of Work and Pain (SWAP): a cluster randomised controlled trial testing the addition of a vocational advice service to best current primary care for patients with musculoskeletal pain (ISRCTN 52269669)

Bishop, Annette, Wynne-Jones, Gwenllian, Lawton, Sarah, van der Windt, Danielle, Main, Chris, Sowden, Gail, Burton, A. Kim, Lewis, Martyn, Jowett, Sue, Sanders, Tom, Hay, Elaine and Foster, Nadine (2014) Rationale, design and methods of the Study of Work and Pain (SWAP): a cluster randomised controlled trial testing the addition of a vocational advice service to best current primary care for patients with musculoskeletal pain (ISRCTN 52269669). BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, 15 (1). ISSN 1471-2474

[img]
Preview
Text (Full text)
Bishop et al - Rationale, design and methods of the Study of Work and Pain (SWAP) OA.pdf - Published Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution 4.0.

Download (1MB) | Preview
Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-2474-15-232

Abstract

Background
Musculoskeletal pain is a major contributor to short and long term work absence. Patients seek care from their general practitioner (GP) and yet GPs often feel ill-equipped to deal with work issues. Providing a vocational case management service in primary care, to support patients with musculoskeletal problems to remain at or return to work, is one potential solution but requires robust evaluation to test clinical and cost-effectiveness.

Methods/Design
This protocol describes a cluster randomised controlled trial, with linked qualitative interviews, to investigate the effect of introducing a vocational advice service into general practice, to provide a structured approach to managing work related issues in primary care patients with musculoskeletal pain who are absent from work or struggling to remain in work. General practices (n = 6) will be randomised to offer best current care or best current care plus a vocational advice service. Adults of working age who are absent from or struggling to remain in work due to a musculoskeletal pain problem will be invited to participate and 330 participants will be recruited. Data collection will be through patient completed questionnaires at baseline, 4 and 12 months. The primary outcome is self-reported work absence at 4 months. Incremental cost-utility analysis will be undertaken to calculate the cost per additional QALY gained and incremental net benefits. A linked interview study will explore the experiences of the vocational advice service from the perspectives of GPs, nurse practitioners (NPs), patients and vocational advisors.

Discussion
This paper presents the rationale, design, and methods of the Study of Work And Pain (SWAP) trial. The results of this trial will provide evidence to inform primary care practice and guide the development of services to provide support for musculoskeletal pain patients with work-related issues.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: Cluster randomised trial, Musculoskeletal pain, Primary care, Vocational advice, Case management, Work
Subjects: B900 Others in Subjects allied to Medicine
Department: Faculties > Health and Life Sciences > Social Work, Education and Community Wellbeing
Depositing User: Paul Burns
Date Deposited: 25 Jan 2019 10:10
Last Modified: 01 Aug 2021 12:23
URI: http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/37742

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

View more statistics