Project Summary
Musculoskeletal pain is a very common condition, unique to each individual and associated with increased burden for patients, family members, and society. Our partnership, the North Florida Musculoskeletal Pain Research Partners, consists of 12 individuals representing different stakeholder entities including patients, clinicians, researchers, and training institutions with an overall mission to collectively develop and advance a sustained collaborative effort toward improving the management of musculoskeletal pain.
We have a special interest in the favorable role that physical therapy has for management of individuals with musculoskeletal pain, particularly because it is a nonpharmacologic option associated with low risk of harm. To help guide the partnership in developing high-impact comparative effectiveness research questions, we will incorporate National Pain Strategy objectives as they outline actions for improving pain care in America.
During Tier I, we have generated a preliminary list of musculoskeletal pain–focused comparative effectiveness research ideas including strategies to improve (1) secondary prevention, (2) tertiary prevention, (3) communication following discharge from healthcare services, and (4) shared decision making. During this Tier II project, we will continue to develop stakeholder partnerships, enhance our communication plan, and provide several skill-building workshops to improve our capabilities for developing a viable comparative effectiveness research question.