COvid-19 aNd musculoskeleTal heAlth durIng lockdowN (CONTAIN)

COvid-19 aNd musculoskeleTal heAlth durIng lockdowN (CONTAIN)

D uration: 01 May 2020 - 31 December 2020
Funder: British Society for Rheumatology , Versus Arthritis
Chief investigator: Professor Gary Macfarlane
Co-investigators: Professor Gareth Jones , Dr Rosemary Hollick , Professor Peter Murchie , Dr Daniel Whibley , Dr LaKrista Morton , Dr Kevin Stelfox


With the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was understandably a lot of research directly related to the virus. However, we were at risk of forgetting people with chronic diseases just at a time when their need was greatest, and with severely reduced access to healthcare services. In the CONTAIN study, we surveyed participants of three of our other studies, BSR-PsA , BSRBR-AS and MAmMOTH in order to determine:

  • Their current health, and specifically how this changed since they were previously surveyed;
  • Their experience of and access to care; and
  • Their perceived current and future care needs.

We then conducted in-depth interviews with a sub-group of participants to explore these issues further.

Further information