Research | ARMA

Inaugural winner of the ORUK/Daphne Jackson Fellowship announced

The Daphne Jackson Trust, in partnership with Orthopaedic Research UK (ORUK), is delighted to announce that a three-year Fellowship has been awarded to Dr Nikki Kuiper. She is a highly qualified academic with a biomedical PhD and a long-standing career in the musculoskeletal (MSK) field via a long association with the Robert Jones & Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic NHS Hospital (RJAH) in Oswestry. Her research will focus on analysing health data on MSK patients, particularly those with knee problems, to find out the period of time from knee surgery to total joint replacement.…

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Chronic pain: What matters to you?

This research aims to better understand what it means to live with and manage chronic pain, from everyone’s perspective. You now have the opportunity to say what matters to you by participating in this survey.

By answering the questionnaire, you can help overcome some of the current uncertainties and challenges of chronic pain management. Your knowledge will enable the researchers to collaborate closely with patients and patient organizations to develop better care that are meaningful for people living with chronic pain and their families.…

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COVID Shielding Voices report

In October 2023 the COVID Shielding Voices report was published. Funded by Versus Arthritis and conducted by the Centre for Epidemiology at the University of Manchester, it is a research study about people with autoimmune inflammatory conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis, who shielded during the pandemic. The report has been shared with both the UK and Scottish COVID-19 inquiries.

The COVID Shielding Voices report captures the depth of people’s experiences of shielding during the pandemic and its long-lasting impact on them, their families, their mental health, and their working lives.…

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RA-UK Regional Anaesthesia Research PSP

The RA-UK Regional Anaesthesia Research Priority Setting Partnership is a project aiming to establish the 10 most important research questions in regional anaesthesia. It’s vital that these questions matter to patients and healthcare professionals.

If you completed the initial survey, RA-UK is grateful for your support. Over 500 research ideas were collected from a wide range of people. The team then generated indicative questions based on themes of the suggested questions and subsequently performed a literature search to establish which of these questions were already answered.…

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The role of osteopaths in early DCM diagnosis

The results of a study recently published in the JMIR, has concluded that given that osteopaths are a workforce professionally trained to examine musculoskeletal disease, they could have an important role in accelerating access to timely diagnosis and treatment of Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy (DCM).

DCM presents significant diagnosis and timely treatment challenges. Exploring these challenges, it had been observed that those with suspected or undiagnosed DCM frequently consult osteopaths for care for their symptoms.

To further explore the potential role of osteopaths in enhancing the diagnostic pathway, a survey was conducted among registered UK osteopaths by the charity Myelopathy.org…

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ORUK Invention for Innovation: AI in MSK

Orthopaedic Research UK is seeking to co-fund research applications with the National Institute for Health and Care Research that have the aim of transforming musculoskeletal health outcomes through the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

The April 2023 NIHR Invention for Innovation Product Development Award call 26 and Challenge call 15 invite proposals in AI in musculoskeletal health for research that falls into any of the following areas:

Diagnosis
Self-management
Treatment optimisation
Monitoring
Risk stratification
Health economics

To make a significant contribution to the health of the majority of patients demanding support, and reduce the costs to the NHS, the application of AI technology must be broadened and accelerated and access to data improved.…

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New funding for osteoporosis research

The Royal Osteoporosis Society has launched its third consecutive research grants round for 2023, opening the scheme for the first time to innovation projects that can close the care gap and reduce health inequalities.

Applications are encouraged from researchers at every career stage. Project grants of up to £100,000 over a maximum of three years will be available. The deadline for applications is Tuesday 6 June 2023.

Call for evidence into MSK Health Inequalities closing soon!

The call for evidence in ARMA’s Inquiry into MSK health inequalities is closing on Monday April 3rd! This is a crucial opportunity to share your insights and experiences and help shape the future of MSK healthcare in the UK.

The inquiry aims to explore and address the persistent inequalities in MSK healthcare outcomes and access across the country. Deprivation is a significant driver of inequalities in MSK health. People in deprived areas experience more chronic pain, are more likely to have a long term MSK condition and experience worse clinical outcomes and quality of life.…

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Versus Arthritis Physical Activity Conversations Survey

Versus Arthritis is working with London Metropolitan University to understand more about the conversations healthcare professionals have with their patients around physical activity, their confidence and knowledge in this subject, and how frequently they discuss the benefits of being active in their appointments. If you are a healthcare professional, could you please spare just five minutes to complete a short survey to share your experiences.

The findings will be really valuable to Versus Arthritis, helping to tailor support and information for healthcare professionals where it’s needed.…

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Research funding awarded by Nuffield Foundation and Versus Arthritis

£1.94 million has been awarded by the Nuffield Foundation’s Oliver Bird Fund and Versus Arthritis to support research to improve wellbeing among people living with MSK conditions. Awards have been made to six teams across five universities.

The projects focus on recommendations for policy and practice for improving duration and quality of working lives; developing materials to support education and career pathways for young people with juvenile onset conditions; assessing the benefits of social prescribing; and evaluation of a peer mentoring programme for people experiencing economic disadvantage.…

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