Musculoskeletal

Leadership Team:

• Prof David Hunter (Flagship Co-Director, Rheumatologist, RNSH)
• Prof Andreas Zankl (Clinical Geneticist, Children’s Hospital Westmead)
• Dr Jillian Eyles (Post-doctoral physiotherapist)

Objectives:

This Network is formed around NSW Health Leading Better Value Care initiatives and the SHP-funded MESSAGE implementation study. It will undertake pilot work for the multi-centre PARTNER trial that seeks to optimise non-surgical management of arthritis as well as supporting transfer of young people with skeletal dysplasia from CHW to adult services

Projects:

• Osteoarthritis Trials: SCUlpTOR, ATLAS, CQUC398, MaRVEL, TOPS, Walk with Ease - Find out more
• Clinical Outcomes of OA Management Programs - Find out more
• Skeletal Dysplasia Trials - Find out more
• OAChangeMap: Developing and evaluating strategies to address determinants and gaps in the implementation of the Osteoarthritis Chronic Care Program.
• ATLAS study: Arthritis Training Learning and Upskilling- an eLearning program for health professionals

Leadership Team:

• A/Prof Anne Tiedemann (Exercise scientist, NHMRC grant CIA)
• Dr Leanne Hassett (Physiotherapist, MRFF grant CIA)

Objectives:

This Network is built around multiple collaborative implementation projects that focus on supporting pathways to community exercise from health services with SHP (PROPOSE study led by Prof Sherrington), MRFF (BEHAVIOUR study led by Dr Hassett) and NHMRC CRE funds.

Projects:

• Mobility and Falls: PROPOSE – Find out more
• Disability: BEHAVIOUR – Find out more
• Healthy Ageing: PROMOTE-PA – Find out more

Leadership Team:

• Dr Gustavo Machado (Physiotherapist, NHMRC ECF, HCF Grant CIA)
• Prof Chris Maher (Flagship Co-director)
• Dr Bethan Richards (Rheumatologist, RPAH)
• A/Prof Michael Dinh (Emergency Physician, RPAH)
• Prof Steve Kamper (Physiotherapist, NHMRC Investigator grant holder, Nepean BM LHD)

Objectives:

This network is built around the new model of care evaluated in the SHaPED trial and new implementation work on avoiding hospital admission in partnership with RPA Virtual Hospital.

Projects:

• RESHAP-ED: a randomised trial testing primary-contact physiotherapy in emergency departments. Funded by MRFF.
• BACK@HOME: an implementation study of a virtual hospital model of care for low back pain. Funded by HCF Research Foundation.
• DATABACK: a health-record data linkage study of pre(hospital) and primary care of low back pain. Funded by The University of Sydney.
• SHaPED: a stepped wedge trial to reduce low-value care of low back pain in emergency departments. Funded by Sydney Health Partners and NSW Agency for Clinical Innovation.
• LINK-ED: a health-record data linkage study that aims to develop a single platform to integrate prehospital and hospital datasets on low back pain.

Leadership Team:

• Dr Christina Abdelshaheed (Pharmacist, NHMRC grant CIA)
• Prof Andrew McLachlan (Dean of Pharmacy)
• Prof Chris Lin (NHMRC Investigator Grant holder)
• A/Prof Danijela Gnjidic (NHMRC Dementia Leadership Fellow)

Objectives:

This network is built around opioid de-prescribing work involving a new NHMRC-funded trial and guideline implementation as well as Prof Lin’s NHMRC-funded OASIS trial (Oral Steroids for Sciatica).

Projects:

• COMFORT: Clinical Observation Management and Function Of Low Back Pain Relief Therapies - Aims to support general practitioners to provide opioid stewardship for patients with low back pain. -  Find out more
• The Pain Medicines Roadmap: A global initiative that brings together the evidence regarding the efficacy and harms of opioids, gabapentinoids, antidepressants, muscle relaxants, anaesthetics, glucocorticoids, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, paracetamol and complementary alternative medicines for the treatment of cancer and non-cancer pain in people of all ages.

Leadership Team:

• Prof Cathie Sherrington (CAG Chair)
• Prof Vasi Naganathan (Geriatrician, Concord Hospital)
• Dr Mark Latt (Geriatrician, RPA)
• Dr Andrew Hallahan (Executive Director Medical Services, Clinical Governance and Risk, SLHD)

Objectives:

This network builds on previous large-scale health service trials, NSW Health Leading Better Value Care initiatives and the CRE led by Prof Sherrington.

Projects:

• Mobility and Falls: Adapting a successful program targeting falls reduction in the rehabilitation setting to the acute hospital environment - Find out more

Leadership Team:

• Prof Ian Cameron (Rehabilitation Physician, Hornsby Hospital)
• Prof Sue Kurrle (Geriatrician, Hornsby Hospital)
• Prof Cathie Sherrington
• Prof Vasi Naganathan

Objectives:

Ths Network is based around a) an NHMRC-funded implementation study (FORTRESS) rolling out the interdisciplinary intervention found to reduce frailty and disability in the team’s previous Frailty Intervention Trial and b) the TOP-UP trial of physiotherapy delivered by telehealth in residential aged care facilities.

Projects:

• FORTRESS: Frailty in Older people: Rehabilitation, Treatment, Research Examining Separate Settings investigates frailty intervention after discharge.
• FORTRESS Plus: This study provides an enhanced intervention after discharge in comparison with the previous study.
• TOP-UP: The Aged Care facilities study (TOP-UP) investigating telehealth for exercise.

Leadership Team:

• Prof Manuela Ferreira (NHMRC grant CIA)
• Dr Andrew Ellis (Orthopaedic surgeon, NSLHD)
• Prof Ian Harris (Orthopaedic surgeon, SWSLHD, SLHD)
• Dr Sam Adie (Orthopaedic surgeon)
• Prof Chris Maher

Objectives:

This Network builds on the world leading NHMRC-funded surgical research undertaken by the team and links with CREs in Right Care, Back Pain and Musculoskeletal Trials.

Projects:

• SUcceSS: The “Surgery for Spinal Stenosis” study is the world’s first randomised, placebo-controlled study of decompression surgery for central lumbar canal stenosis.  Find out more
• METEOR2: The “Meteor2: Meniscal Allograft Surgery or Optimised Rehabilitation” study is an international study across 4 countries including the UK, Belgium, Canada, and Australia to determine whether meniscal transplant surgery is better or worse than an optimised rehabilitation program. - Find out more