Impact Snapshot

Enhancing Osteoarthritis Management through Co-Designed Implementation Strategies

Project Location(s): North Sydney Local Health District (NSLHD), Sydney Local Health District (SLHD), Western Sydney Local Health District (WSLHD)
Project Lead: Dr Jillian Eyles (University of Sydney, The Kolling Institute)

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Dr Jillian Eyles leads the OAChangeMap Project which aims to improve the adoption of the Osteoarthritis Chronic Care Program (OACCP) in NSW hospitals. The OACCP is a model of care developed by the NSW Agency for Clinical Innovation (ACI).

The Challenge

When properly implemented, OACCP has been shown to delay the need for surgery, and in some cases, remove patients from joint replacement waitlists entirely. However, patient misconceptions about osteoarthritis care, together with clinicians’ low confidence in supporting participants to set goals, sustain long-term health behaviour change, and self-manage their condition, have been barriers to the optimal delivery of the program.

The Approach

The project brought together University of Sydney researchers, clinicians from Royal North Shore, Hornsby, Royal Prince Alfred and Westmead hospitals, along with 15 consumers, and the ACI to lead the development and evaluation of co-designed educational and decision-support tools for patients and staff, and a clinician community of practice. The approach was informed by behaviour change theory, and co-design workshops were held with clinicians and consumers.

Sydney Health Partners Support

Fellowship

  • Dr Eyles was awarded a Sydney Health Partners Research Translation Fellowship in 2021.

Impact as of 2026

  • This project has transformed osteoarthritis management practices while leveraging over $2.6 million in funding to sustain and expand its impact (Investigator Grant Emerging Leadership Grant $662,040, 2024-28; MRFF Effective Treatments Grant $600,000, 2023-27; NHMRC Partnership Grant $1,370,877, 2023-27; and Ramsay Research and Teaching Fund Scheme $60,000, 2024-27).
  • The work has significantly influenced key guidelines and frameworks for osteoarthritis management, enhanced OACCP implementation strategies, and ensured scalability across NSW hospitals.
  • Additional statewide consultations with OACCP clinicians and collaboration with the NSW ACI have helped to refine and scale the educational materials and tools used across 26 NSW hospitals treating over 9,000 people with osteoarthritis a year.
  • The mixed methods evaluation found that clinicians considered the educational materials and community of practice to be acceptable, appropriate, and high quality. Twelve weeks after engaging with these resources, clinicians also reported increased knowledge and skills in osteoarthritis care.

Recognition

This project was selected as an example of researchers and ACI network managers working collaboratively at the NSW ACI Clinical Engagement and Operational Programs Directorate Strategy Day “Transformative Partnerships – Working with Researchers to Transform Network Approaches” session, November 2025.

Key Publication

Eyles, J.P., Kobayashi, S., Duong, V., Hunter, D.J., Avdalis, C., Buttel, T., Dawson, G., Dório, M., D’Souza, N., Foster, K., Maka, K., March, M.K., Menz, F., Pratt, C., Rankin, N.M., Richardson, D., Thompson, J., Strong, C. and Bowden, J.L. (2025), Building the OAChangeMap to Improve the Service Delivery of the New South Wales Osteoarthritis Chronic Care Program: A Worked Example of Using a Codesign Framework. Arthritis Care Res, 77: 491-503. https://doi.org/10.1002/acr.25454

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Program

Implementation Science Academy

Partners

Kolling Institute, Northern Sydney Local Health District (NSLHD), Sydney Local Health District (SLHD), University of Sydney, Western Sydney Local Health District (WSLHD)
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