Funder: Chief Scientist Office
Chief investigator: Professor Gary Macfarlane
Co-chief investigator: Dr LaKrista Morton
Other co-investigators: Dr Rosemary Hollick , Dr Elaine Wainwright , Dr Diane Lacaille (Arthritis Research Canada), Professor Karen Walker-Bone (University of Southampton)
Research fellow: Dr Cara Ghiglieri
Project coordinator: Stuart Anderson
Musculoskeletal conditions affect around 1 in 3 Scottish adults and have a substantial impact on individuals' work. There is a lack of services supporting individuals with long-term conditions, to help those who wish to remain working to do so. Making it Work™ is an online self-management programme developed in Canada which supports people working with inflammatory arthritis. The programme helped individuals to feel more capable to meet their work demands and reduced the likelihood of periods of sickness absence.
Using group discussions and interviews, we sought input from patients, employers, and healthcare professionals on aspects of the programme to modify and adapt in order to expand it for people with a wider range of musculoskeletal conditions working in Scotland. We then updated the programme to make it suitable for individuals with non-inflammatory conditions such as osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia and chronic regional or widespread pain. Working with experts and eLearning specialists, we made essential changes to the programme based on this feedback, and explored further how the programme could be effectively signposted within NHS Scotland and by other individuals with an interest in supporting people working with musculoskeletal conditions.
We have now completed our main revisions of the programme, and have held a round of user-testing which has informed final changes to make to the programme. We aim to have the programme available sometime early in 2025.
Further information
- What is the background to the study?
- What did the study aim to do?
- What did this research involve?
- Who took part in the study?
- How does this research benefit patients and society?
- What outputs has the study produced so far?
- How can I find out more about the redeveloped programme?
- Study team
- Who funded this study?
- Contact details