OPAL

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  Occupational advice for Patients undergoing Arthroplasty of the Lower limb (OPAL)

• IRAS ID

  200852

• Contact name

  Paul Baker

• Contact email

  paul.baker@stees.nhs.uk

• Sponsor organisation

  South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

• Duration of Study in the UK

  2 years, 2 months, 30 days

• Research summary

  Hip and knee arthritis causes pain which limits physical function and can affect ability to work. Hip and knee replacements are proven to relieve pain and improve function, and help many patients of working age to continue working or get back to work. Currently there is variation in the advice and support given about sickness absence, recovery to usual activities and return to work after these procedures. Earlier, sustainable, return to work improves the health of patients and benefits their employers and society. We therefore need to better understand what is currently being done and how we might improve current care. Once we understand the issues patients have when returning to work after hip and knee replacement we will develop an ‘occupational advice intervention' which is tailored to their requirements, in the form of a manual that will provide support and advice to enhance their early recovery to usual activities including work and to test the acceptability, practicality and feasibility of this intervention within current care frameworks.
  This research has two separate parts and will take 27 months overall
  •The first part will collect information about work roles and return to work from a variety of sources including surgeons, allied health professionals (AHPs), general practitioners (GPs), employers and patients using questionnaires and interviews and will run during the first 13 months of the study. These interviews will provide detailed information about the shortcomings and difficulties in current care and support available, and identify possible solutions and improvements to overcome them.
  •In the second part we will use this information to develop the ‘occupational advice intervention’ manual to help patients return to usual activities including work and aim to test the acceptability, practicality and feasibility of this intervention

• REC name

  East Midlands - Derby Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  16/EM/0341

• Date of REC Opinion

  18 Aug 2016

• REC opinion

  Further Information Favourable Opinion