Research | ARMA

Delay to diagnosis in musculoskeletal disease

Introduction

Across a range of MSK conditions there is evidence of significant delays to diagnosis which result in avoidable morbidity and mortality. GPs have a critical role to play in reducing time to diagnosis. This article looks at the delays, their impact, and the resources available to GPs to support their referral decisions. Our simple message is #ThinkRheum.

Delay to diagnosis

Significant delay from symptom onset to diagnosis has been seen across a range of MSK conditions: an average of 6.4 yeas in Lupus ^[1], 8.5 years in axial spondyloarthrtis (axial SpA) ^[2] and an estimated 10 years in Ehlers-Danos syndromes (EDS).…

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HMSA at European Parliament “Optimising Patient Outcomes” meeting

The HMSA has been out and about quite a bit this month, last week attending the “Optimising Patient Relevant Outcome Measures for sustainable healthcare systems and strong economies” meeting at the European Parliament.

On Wednesday 20 June, Hannah Ensor (HMSA trustee) and Lisa Renaut (HMSA volunteer) visited the European Parliament for this important meeting of the Brain Mind Pain interest group (thanks to Pain Alliance Europe for funding travel expenses.) The talks were both informative and interesting.

Cathalijne van Doorne, from Euro Ataxia, spoke about the practical importance of clinical research and interventions focusing on what would most benefit the patient – which is a big shift from what the clinical priorities might be.…

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Winners announced for European patient-driven pain grant

The inaugural Brain, Mind and Pain Grant announced its winners in June, naming three innovative, patient-centred projects:

Master Your Pain by Groningen University – an e-health platform to help patients with rheumatic pain self-manage their symptoms
ASPERGA Association for their prototype auditory aid that aims to reduce sensory pain in people with autism spectrum disorder
MyBrainNet by Dystonia Europe – a central platform for neurological brain diseases, providing information to patient groups and patients to help improve their quality of life.

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EULAR EMEUNET Journal Club and Social Media survey

EMEUNET (the Emerging Eular NETwork) and the EULAR School of Rheumatology have launched an online educational initiative called Twitter Journal Club, facilitated by experienced rheumatologists. The aim is to allow Twitter users to participate in a discussion with colleagues around the world about recent key papers in rheumatology.

Each month details of the article selected for the Journal Club as well as the EMEUNET paper of the month will be available for download on our the EMEUNET website. You can also have a look at the previous Journal Club sessions.…

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Working with Arthritis Survey

Arthritis Research UK wants to hear people’s experiences of working with arthritis.

Arthritis Research UK is asking people to respond to their survey on working with arthritis.

Everyone who takes part in the survey will help the Arthritis Research UK campaigns team better understand the key problems faced by people with arthritis in the workplace, and help make a case to Government about the support people with arthritis and other musculoskeletal conditions need to thrive at work.

We would really appreciate it if any ARMA members could share the survey with their supporters and beneficiaries.…

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The State of Musculoskeletal Health 2018

The State of Musculoskeletal Health 2018 is a resource for health professionals, policy makers, public health leads and anyone interested in musculoskeletal health. We believe that with the best information you can build awareness, make more informed decisions, feel more confident and ultimately help more people with musculoskeletal conditions. The resource was put together by Arthritis Research UK.

Using the best available data on prevalence, risk factors and comorbidities, the report lays out the key factors affecting musculoskeletal health, the economic benefits of musculoskeletal research, and describes the scale and impact of the problem.…

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Physical Activity in Adolescence

The Faculty of Sport and Exercise Medicine has updated its position statement Physical Activity in Adolescence. The statement is a useful reference document for both the Sport and Exercise Medicine community and all health professionals, with evidence-informed recommendations for health-related physical activity.

The statement highlights recent objective studies, which have collected data using accelerometry, indicate that less than 25% of adolescents accumulate an average of 60 min per day of moderate physical activity. The guidelines include information on muscle strength, skeletal health, obesity, mental health and wellbeing with recommendations for the type and length of regular physical activity in this population.…

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Against the Odds: Scaling innovation in the NHS

Guest blog by David Albury, Board Director Innovation Unit

Why have so many innovations in the NHS failed to make the impact they might because they remain in isolated pockets and never spread? Here at the Innovation Unit we decided to look at this question from a more positive angle and ask where innovation has spread and what made that possible?

There is broad agreement that the pressures and challenges currently facing the NHS can only be addressed through developing and scaling innovations that significantly improve outcomes whilst significantly reducing costs.…

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Patient survey on MSK self-management apps

EULAR has funded a project aimed at understanding the development, evaluation and implementation of mobile phone applications for self-management in patients with rheumatic diseases.

Following a systematic literature teview, the project task force is now at a stage where it would like to gain insights into the patient’s views, perceptions and current use of health apps for self-management.

EULAR therefore kindly asks you to fill in the following survey:
surveymonkey.com/mHealthAppsSurvey
It takes 5 to 10 minutes to complete.

The Pain Alliance Europe 2018 survey

Pain Alliance Europe are asking for responses to the 2018 edition of the Survey on Chronic Pain, which highlights how pain can affect the work-life of pain patients.

The charities who are members of Pain Alliance Europe (PAE) are inviting people with chronic pain or their carers to fill in this short survey on the effect of their chronic pain on their quality of life, their work situation and about any financial help they receive. The survey starts with some basic questions.…

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