Research groups

Research group lead name and contact details

Kayleigh Mason k.mason@keele.ac.uk

Also see www.keele.ac.uk/hcdr for further information.

Research group information

The Keele Health and Care Data Research Network aims to advance research excellence and innovation in the use of electronic health records and linked data for research in musculoskeletal and other conditions.

We work in multidisciplinary teams of methodologists and clinicians across the research groups within the Centre for Musculoskeletal Health Research, as well as other research themes within the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences.

Research topic areas

Within the Centre for Musculoskeletal Health Research, we aim to use EHR to:

• Describe the burden of musculoskeletal conditions in health and social care including their prevalence, incidence, management and trends over time;
• Describe the most likely future outcome and course of musculoskeletal conditions;
• Identify risk factors for poorer outcome and improve prediction of these outcomes;
• Identify factors predicting benefit or harm from specific interventions.

Research group lead name and contact details

Dr Z Paskins - z.paskins@keele.ac.uk

Research group topic areas and current projects

Keele’s osteoporosis research group is a multidisciplinary group concerned with research which improves the identification and care of people with, or at risk of, osteoporosis and fractures.

The group uses a variety of research methods including mixed methods studies, clinical epidemiology and trials, qualitative research alongside patient and public involvement and engagement to answer important questions to people living with osteoporosis and their carers.

Specific areas of interest

Identifying and/or exploring:

• incidence and prevalence of osteoporosis and fracture in rheumatological conditions
• outcomes after fractures, including mental health outcomes such as suicide and self-harm
• inequalities in care e.g., gender
• effectiveness of non-pharmacological interventions
• real world data on safety effectiveness and experience of osteoporosis therapies

Improving and promoting:

• shared decision-making and person-centred care
• education and awareness, addressing common myths
• medicines optimisation and concordance (adherence)
• monitoring of, and concordance with osteoporosis therapies e.g., using biochemical markers
• primary care management, addressing clinician’s decision-making needs

Active studies include:

1. iFraP: Improving Fracture Prevention. A 5-year study funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research Clinician Scientist Award (Paskins), Royal Osteoporosis Society and Haywood Foundation to develop and evaluate the ‘iFraP’ intervention. The iFraP osteoporosis intervention includes a Decision Support Tool, clinician training package, and information resources, with the aim to improve shared decision-making about osteoporosis medicines in Fracture Liaison Service appointments.
2. INDEX: Improving understanding of bone density (DXA) scans. This 2-year funded study by the Royal Osteoporosis Society aims to explore patient and clinician understanding of bone density (DXA) scans and reports, and to produce recommendations and knowledge mobilisation resources to enhance DXA understanding and communication.
3. Addressing the osteoporosis care gap in UK primary care: a mixed methods study. This study is funded by a Versus Arthritis Clinical Research Fellowship. The study aims to examine current practice in the identification, investigation and management of osteoporosis in primary care, and understand the barriers to and facilitators of evidence-based practice.
4. Understanding how osteoporosis is represented in mainstream media

Current collaborations include:

1. VFRAC University of Bristol. Working with Professor Emma Clark and colleagues on research relating to the Vfrac tool to improve the identification of people with osteoporotic vertebral fractures
2. PHORM Northumbria University. Working with Dr Andrew Sturrock and colleagues to develop a clinical pharmacist-led intervention to support medicines optimisation for people with osteoporosis, informed by the iFraP intervention. This study is developing, adapting and testing resources for clinical decision support for primary care based pharmacists and patient decision making.
3. Mayo Clinic. Secondary analysis of video recorded GP consultations about bone health to understand how beliefs about osteoporosis and osteoporosis medicines are elicited and addressed by clinicians in clinical encounters.

Osteoporosis Community of Practice

We have an active osteoporosis Community of Practice (CoP). Our online community includes individuals who are interested in shaping osteoporosis research at Keele University. CoP members have a shared goal of improving care for people with, or at risk of, osteoporosis and includes people with osteoporosis and/or their carers, healthcare professionals, industry representatives, researchers and knowledge mobilization experts.

Osteoporosis Research User Group:

We have an active Osteoporosis Research User Group (RUG). The RUG includes individuals with osteoporosis, fragility fractures and their carers. The group has supported several successful projects and funding applications.

Osteoporosis Research Group Outputs

• Enhanced clinical skills training for osteoporosis specialists in shared decision making, health literacy, risk communication www.ifraptraining.co.uk
• Web-based repository of Evidence-based Resources for Osteoporosis care www.erohub.co.uk
• Coming soon 'Osteoporosis Options'  Treatment decision support for healthcare professionals and patients

Research group lead name and contact details

Dr Emma Healey - e.healey@keele.ac.uk

Research group topic areas and current projects examples

• The impact of comorbidity on physical activity and clinical outcomes in those with Osteoarthritis in primary care.
• Outcomes, feasibility and acceptability of primary care nurse led review for CVD, mood and bone health in people with Inflammatory Arthritis.
• Is health literacy taken into account in primary care based multimorbidity interventions.
• The impact of pre-existing MSK pain on outcomes of other conditions.
• The acceptability and feasibility of screening for joint pain and mood in primary care based LTC reviews.

We currently have over 25 members ranging from early career researchers to senior researchers and have both lab-based and applied health research expertise.

The chronic pain research group brings together people with research interests relating to all aspects of chronic pain including assessment, management, analgesic prescribing and epidemiology.

Follow us on twitter @Keele Pain

Research group lead name and contact details

Julie Ashworth - j.ashworth@keele.ac.uk

Research group topic areas and current projects

Chronic pain management

PROMPPT (Proactive clinical Review of patients prescribed Opioid Medicines for persistent Pain led by clinical Pharmacists in primary care Teams) Improving care for patients who are prescribed long-term opioids for persistent pain. www.promppt.co.uk

Trends in gabapentinoid prescribing and risk of adverse events: an observational study in UK primary care using the Clinical Practice Research Datalink.

PINTO: PerspectIves oN opioid use for persisTant nOn-palliative pain in the oldest old

TAPER-Pain Testing the Activity Pacing questionnaire for validity, rEliability and Responsiveness: an outcome measure for chronic Pain

Chronic pain epidemiology

CHIPP High Impact Chronic Pain and UK Biobank: presentation, transitions, and targets for intervention (Chronic High Impact Pain Project) Workpackage 2: Study exploring how traumatic events and experience impact on chronic pain, using data from UK Biobank.

Research group lead name and contact details

Melanie Holden, Professor of Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation - m.holden@keele.ac.uk

Research group keywords

Osteoarthritis, joint pain, arthritis

Research group topic areas and current projects

We are a large multi-disciplinary research group with representation from the following disciplines: 

• Advanced Therapeutics
• Bioengineering
• Biomarkers
• Biostatistics 
• Epidemiology
• Public Health
• Exercise physiology 
• General practice
• Implementation science  
• Nursing 
• Orthopedics 
• Patient and public involvement 
• Pharmacy
• Physiotherapy
• Qualitative research 
• Randomised controlled trials 
• Rheumatology
• Social science 

From bench to beside (and back again), we aim to produce high quality, innovative research that positively impacts people with osteoarthritis. Patient and public involvement is at our heart.

Our research:

• Uses big datasets to explore health trends
• Determines the clinical- and cost- effectiveness of new treatments for osteoarthritis
• Uses surveys and clinical cohorts to describe the occurrence of osteoarthritis in the general population
• Uses qualitative methods to understand osteoarthritis experiences
• Develops and tests new advanced therapies and biologics
• Uses biomarker analyses to understand pathological processes and responses to treatments and surgeries

We have a particular interest in:

• Osteoarthritis rehabilitation
• Osteoarthritis in forgotten joints (including the hand and foot)
• Osteoarthritis in the context of multi-morbidity
• Progression to osteoarthritis post-trauma
• Osteoarthritis management in primary care
• Changing the narrative around osteoarthritis
• Osteoarthritis flares

Additional information

We are open to national and international collaboration. Please contact us for more information or to join our research group.

This is a multidisciplinary group with a shared research and clinical interest in spine-related pain. The aims of the group are:

Ideas: Generate ideas and research priorities for future research

Funding: Generate forward funding plans and funding streams

Students: Identify and support development of PhD/MPhil/MSc projects

Peer support: of funding applications/ research ideas/ planned publications

Collaborations: Identify high quality collaborations for the group

Research group lead name and contact details

Dr Siobhán Stynes - s.stynes@keele.ac.uk

Research group topic areas and current projects

Current projects members are involved in

• Sciatica: Predictors of outcome following epidural spinal injections (POiSE cohort study, NIHR)
• Medication in acute low back pain (MEDAL trial, NIHR)
• UK-Saudi selfSTarT
• SupportBack 2: Supporting self-management of low back pain with an internet intervention in primary care (NIHR)
• CAM-Pain includes spinal pain in children & young people
• Evidence reviews to underpin a guideline for Axial Spondyloarthropathy
• Investigating bacteria in LBP patients (with and without Modic changes) who are undergoing surgery
• TAPER-Pain study: validation of an activity pacing questionnaire for chronic pain
• Accelerometry to measure physical activity and sedentary behaviour among those with chronic pain (including chronic low back pain)
• POPPY study: developing a service model for pain management among older people with frailty
• Self STarT - implementation of a digital pain App in the NHS with FCPs (NHSx Digital)
• BOOST Implementation Study : spinal stenosis rehabilitation

Topic areas of interest

• Overall management of spinal pain. Assessment, Diagnosis, Prognosis Interventions, Stratified/personalised care.
• Optimising Implementation of best practice for spinal pain management
• Lived experience of spinal pain
• Impact of spinal pain on ability to work and how work impacts on peoples’ pain.
• Basic Science: understanding cell biology of Intervertebral discs in health and disease
• Identify novel therapeutic targets to treat IVD degeneration
• Epidemiology & primary care management, spinal pain in children, young people and emerging adults.
• Neuropathic pain in back related leg pain
• Delayed diagnosis inflammatory back pain.
• Training of AHPs
• Delegation of workforce
• Spinal pain in end of life and palliative care

Name of research group

MSK Digital Health Technologies

Research group lead name and contact details

Prof Jonathan Hill - J.hill@keele.ac.uk

Research group keywords

Digital health technologies, eHealth, MSK

Research group topic areas & current projects

Topics

• Digital treatment & data collection.

Current projects members are involved in

• iFRAP
• Orthopathways
• National MSK Audit
• MIDAS
• Ian’s PROM project
• SelfSTarT
• PhD projects
• other Fellowships
• SupportPRIM
• Toby’s data project

Additional information

We meet twice a year. If people want more information they can contact Michelle Press.