Individuals with musculoskeletal conditions awaiting orthopaedic surgery consultation: an untapped opportunity for patient health management?

Objective: To describe the health characteristics, condition-specific measures, chronic disease risk factors, and healthcare and medication use over time of individuals with musculoskeletal conditions awaiting orthopaedic surgical consultation. Study importance: Musculoskeletal conditions are highly prevalent in the general population and often coexist with chronic diseases. However, little is documented about the overall health of this group.

Perspectives of emergency department clinicians on the challenges of addressing low back pain in the emergency setting: A qualitative study.

Objective: To identify and explore ED clinician perspectives on: (i) why patients with low back pain (LBP) present to the ED and are admitted into hospital from ED; (ii) barriers and enablers they face when providing care to patients with LBP; and (iii) strategies to improve the care of patients with LBP, and associated care processes, in the ED.

Methods: We undertook a qualitative exploratory study with ED clinicians (medical officers, nurses and physiotherapists) at a tertiary-level public hospital in New South Wales, Australia, using focus groups and individual interviews. We used thematic analysis to synthesise participant responses to answer the predefined research questions.