Studies List | The Institute of Applied Health Sciences

Studies List

Current studies

We are currently running a number of studies which mainly focus on rheumatic and musculoskeletal conditions. Our studies aim to understand disease mechanisms in order to design further research with a goal of working to improve health services for patients.

See below for an overview of our current studies, or click on the associated link to find out more about a particular study.

BRUCES

Name of study (full): Building Rural-Urban healthCare Equity for Scotland (BRUCES)
Disease area: Musculoskeletal conditions, cancer, frailty
Study duration: 01 September 2024 - 31 August 2029
Funder: Chief Scientist Office

Rural-dwellers can receive less or different care from those living in urban areas, resulting in poorer health. To improve care, we need to better understand why rural health outcomes are poorer and identify ways to make it fairer.

The BRUCES project aims to understand how and why health and healthcare for people living in different types of rural communities differs from those living in urban areas. Our findings will be used to develop evidence-based recommendations to improve care.

Status: Active

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BSRBR-AS

Name of study (full): British Society for Rheumatology Biologics Register for Ankylosing Spondylitis
Disease area: Axial spondyloarthritis
Study duration: Data collection (2012 - 2020) (analysis ongoing)
Funder: British Society for Rheumatology (with funds from Pfizer, AbbVie and UCB)

The main aims of this study were to investigate, among persons with axial spondyloarthritis:

The real-world effectiveness of anti-TNF (‘biologic’) therapy;
The predictors of poor work outcomes (job loss, or work-disability); and
The occurrence, impact, and effect of treatment, of comorbidities such as fibromyalgia.

Status: Complete (analysis ongoing)

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BSR-PsA

Name of study (full): British Society for Rheumatology Psoriatic Arthritis Register
Disease area: Psoriatic Arthritis
Study duration: 01 October 2017 - 31 March 2026
Funder: British Society for Rheumatology (with funds from Amgen)

The aim of this study, among persons with psoriatic arthritis, is to investigate:

The disease impact, including patient function, work and quality of life;
Patient outcomes (clinical and social outcomes) in the medium to long-term; and
The use and effectiveness of novel pharmacological therapies (biologic medicines and other targeted therapies).

Status: Active

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CAPE

Name of study (full): Consortium Against Pain InEquality (CAPE) - The impact of adverse childhood experiences on chronic pain and responses to treatment.
Disease area: Chronic pain
Study duration: 01 July 2021 – 30 June 2025
Funder: Medical Research Council and Versus Arthritis

CAPE is a consortium whose purpose is to further our understanding of how adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) might lead to an increased vulnerability to chronic pain in adulthood. As part of this consortium, the team in Aberdeen will be using data from studies across the world which have collected data on ACEs and pain. We will analyse the factors that may contribute to, or protect against, people who report ACEs developing chronic pain in later life.

Status: Active

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CHIPP

Name of study (full): High Impact Chronic Pain and UK Biobank: presentation, transitions, and targets for intervention (Chronic High Impact Pain Project, CHIPP)
Disease area: Chronic pain
Study duration: 01 March 2022 - 28 February 2025
Funder: Medical Research Council and Versus Arthritis as part of the APDP initiative.

Up to half of adults in the UK have chronic pain. Many people with pain can function with minimal disruption. About a quarter of those with chronic pain though suffer disability and distress. This type of pain is high impact chronic pain. There isn't much research on this type of pain. This project aims to find out the causes of high impact chronic pain. It will assess why people develop it, and how they recover. This will tell us which population level treatment and management methods to use.

Status: Active

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FocalPoint

Name of study (full): What helps people with musculoskeletal pain stay in the labour market, if they are self-employed, precarious or portfolio workers? Patients’ and First Contact Practitioners’ views (FocalPoint)
Disease area: Musculoskeletal conditions (various)
Study duration: 01 July 2023 - 31 March 2024
Funder: NHS Grampian

In this study we will interview workers living with MSK pain to explore their experiences of being self-employed or in otherwise ‘non-traditional’ or flexible modes of employment such as freelance or contract work or zero-hours contract work, and how FCP consultations might be used to support their working lives. We will also interview FCPs to investigate their experiences of supporting these workers.

Status: Complete (analysis ongoing)

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FRESKO

Name of study (full): Feasibility of Recruiting an Early Scottish Knee Osteoarthritis cohort (FRESKO)
Disease area: Osteoarthritis
Study duration: Finishes June 2022
Funder: Chief Scientist's Office of the Scottish Government

Osteoarthritis (OA) affects 800,000 people in Scotland. Current options for treatment are limited to painkillers and, when pain becomes disabling, joint replacement. Our ultimate aim is to recruit people throughout Scotland with early knee OA (a common form of OA), which will allow us to better diagnose the disease in its early stages; identify what “biological markers” predict people whose disease will get worse quickly and why; and identify new (drug and non-drug) treatments. This would have the potential to identify for each patient the specific treatment most likely to improve their disease.

Status: Complete

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iPRePaRe

Name of study (full): implementing Patient Research Partner Engagement in Research (iPRePaRe)
Research area: Patient and Public Involvement in rheumatology and musculoskeletal research
Study duration: 01 July 2023 - 30 June 2024
Funder: European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology (EULAR)

The iPRePaRe study will explore the way in which the work of patient research partners (PRPs) in rheumatic and musculoskeletal disease (RMD) research is perceived by the partners themselves and by RMD researchers. To do this we will work with patient partners to co-design a questionnaire that will be sent to PRPs and RMD researchers. The questionnaire will be followed up by interviews with PRPs and RMD researchers.

Status: Complete

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LIFT

Name of study (full): Lessening the Impact of Fatigue in inflammatory rheumatic disease: a randomised clinical Trial
Disease area: Ankylosing spondylitis, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosis
Study duration: 1 August 2016 - 31 October 2021
Funder: Versus Arthritis (formerly Arthritis Research UK)

Fatigue is common and disabling for most patients with inflammatory rheumatic disease. Therapies designed to improve physical activity and talking treatments are helpful in reducing the burden of fatigue, however few patients have access to these treatments on the NHS. This study aims to improve access to treatments which alleviate fatigue in people with inflammatory rheumatic conditions, such as physical activity and talking therapy.

Status: Complete

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Making it Work™ - Scotland

Name of study (full): Supporting people with musculoskeletal disorders in Scotland to remain in work: adapting the Making it Work™ intervention developed for people with inflammatory arthritis in Canada (Making it Work)
Disease area: Inflammatory and non-inflammatory musculoskeletal conditions
Study duration: 01 March 2022 - 31 March 2024
Funder: Chief Scientist Office

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 remain working if they wish to do so. Making it Work™ is an online self-management programme developed in Canada which supports people working with inflammatory arthritis. The programme has been successful in helping individuals feel more capable to meet work demands and has reduced the likelihood of extended sickness absences.

We will seek input from patients, employers, and healthcare professionals on aspects of the programme to modify and expand in order to make it relevant for people with a wider range of musculoskeletal conditions in Scotland, including non-inflammatory conditions such as osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia and chronic pain. Based on this feedback we will make changes to the programme and establish how it can be delivered within NHS Scotland.

Status: Research complete; redevelopment of programme in progress

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MAmMOTH

Name of study (full): MAintaining MusculOskeleTal Health
Disease area: Chronic widespread pain (CWP), fibromyalgia
Study duration: 01 March 2015 - 31 March 2020
Funder: Versus Arthritis

The MAmMOTH study aims to investigate the success of cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT), delivered via telephone sessions, in preventing the development of chronic widespread pain (CWP) and to assess its cost effectiveness.

CWP is a common experience for patients with fibromyalgia, with pain presenting in muscles, joints and ligaments. However, it is important to manage these symptoms as early as possible as the longer pain lasts, the less likely it will be successfully treated.

This study expands on previous group research showing the improvement in symptoms brought about by telephone-delivered CBT sessions with the implementation of a full scale randomised trial of the therapy.

Status: Complete

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PACFiND

Name of study (full): PAtient-centred Care for FIbromyalgia: New pathway Design
Disease area: Fibromyalgia
Study duration: 01 February 2019 - 30 September 2025
Funder: Versus Arthritis

Fibromyalgia is a common, long term condition causing symptoms of widespread pain, fatigue and sleep disturbance. Once diagnosed, there is limited evidence available on how to organise health services to deliver recommended treatments to people with fibromyalgia. Therefore, patients can feel dissatisfied with current services and believe that no-one is willing to take responsibility for their care.

This study aims to improve healthcare services for patients with fibromyalgia. The hope is to provide a timely diagnosis and ensure everyone will have access to effective treatments, ultimately leading to better outcomes for patients.

Status: Active

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PANDOS

Name of study (full): Pain and Opioids After Surgery (PANDOS)
Study area: Post-operative pain
Study duration: 01 October 2023 - 31 December 2024
Funder: European Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care

The aim of the PANDOS Research Group is to improve pain management and perioperative opioid use after surgery. The first work of the group will be the PANDOS study, which will document opioid use in Europe and describe its association with adverse events and persistent pain, aiming to include more than 10,000 patients, in at least 100 hospitals in more than 10 European countries.

Status: Active

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QUICK

Name of study (full): QUantifying the Impact of Chronic pain on engagement in paid worK (QUICK)
Disease area: Chronic pain conditions (various)
Study duration: 01 June 2021 - 31 October 2024
Funder: Medical Research Council

Chronic pain has many effects on the ways that people engage with work, however, there is currently no standard questionnaire that can fully explore and measure the nature of these impacts within different work settings. Existing questionnaires tend to assume people have one job with a certain number of hours every week. They do not ask about the different ways pain might affect work, and they are not designed for modern ways of working, such as holding several part-time jobs or having "zero hours" contracts.

We aim to develop a questionnaire that can be used to assess the many different ways in which chronic pain affects work ability, taking into account modern ways of working.

Status: Active

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RHEUMAPS

Name of study (full): RHEUmatic and musculoskeletal conditions: geographical MApping of Prevalence and outcomeS
Disease area: Rheumatic disease, musculoskeletal disease
Study duration: 01 June 2020 - 31 May 2024
Funder: Nuffield Foundation / Versus Arthritis

This project will link healthcare records in Wales and Scotland to understand the extent of geographical differences in the prevalence and outcomes of those living with MSK conditions, and factors driving such differences. The team will also survey MSK patients in rural and urban areas across the UK about their care to make recommendations for policy.

Status: Active

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SIRAS

Disease area: Ankylosing spondylitis (axial spondyloarthritis)
Study duration: 01 October 2010 - 30 September 2016
Funders: Pfizer / AbbVie

The Scotland Registry for Ankylosing Spondylitis (SIRAS) attempted to recruit all patients with ankylosing spondylitis managed in NHS rheumatology departments in Scotland. Clinical data was collected from >2000 patients, around half of whom also complete questionnaires giving important information on general health, pain, function, quality of life and fatigue. They also gave consent for contact for future research and several annual follow-up questionnaires were administered.

Status: Complete

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TickTock

Name of study (full): Successful transitions from school to post-school occupations for young people with persistent pain (the TickTock study)
Disease area: Persistent pain
Study duration: 01 May 2022 - 30 September 2022
Funder: Wellcome Trust Institutional Strategic Support Fund (ISSF)

Transitioning from paediatric to adult healthcare is challenging for youth in the UK living with persistent pain. We know little about how to support their transition from school to post-school occupations such as work, university or an apprenticeship. While there is much research on how to enable work for older adults, there is very little on young people aged 14-19 who are coming to the end of formal schooling and transitioning into post-school occupations.

Status: Complete

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UKAR

Name of study (full): UK Antimicrobial Registry (UKAR)
Disease area: Infection and antimicrobial resistance
Study duration: 01 November 2021 - 30 November 2026
Funder: British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy

Effective antimicrobial agents are a crucial component of modern medicine allowing the elimination or inhibition of growth of all microorganisms. However, their effectiveness is threatened by evolutionary development of certain microbes. According to the WHO, antimicrobial resistance is increasing world-wide, and compromising our ability to treat infectious diseases and undermining many other advances in health and medicine. The purpose of the UKAR is to answer a broad set of research questions around novel anti-microbial agents. It will allow us to describe the use of such novel agents throughout the UK and to quantify the clinical outcomes and safety profile associated with their use in a real world setting.

Status: Active

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UNIQUE

Name of study (full): Understanding the impact of Non-Inflammatory musculoskeletal conditions on work and work transitions: a QUalitativE investigation
Disease area: Non-inflammatory musculoskeletal disease
Study duration: 01 October 2021 - 28 February 2022
Funder: Wellcome Trust Insitutional Strategic Support Fund

Musculoskeletal conditions affect around 1 in 3 of Scotland’s population and can have a substantial impact on people’s ability to work. The Making it Work™ programme in Canada has been successful in supporting people with inflammatory arthritis to stay in employment for as long as they wish to.

Through a series of telephone interviews with people with non-inflammatory musculoskeletal conditions, the UNIQUE study hopes to identify key issues that are important to these people, and we will to use this information in future to tailor the Making it Work™ programme to the Scottish population and healthcare system, over a wider range of musculoskeletal conditions.

Status: Complete

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VOICES

Name of study (full): Vasculitis Outcomes In relation to Care ExperienceS
Disease area: Systemic vasculitis
Study duration: 01 September 2019 - 30 September 2023
Funder: Versus Arthritis

This study aims to understand which key elements of care delivery are associated with health outcomes of prime importance to individuals with vasculitis. This information will be used to help us better design services and ensure equal access to effective, coordinated care and support.

We will gather information from people with vasculitis and their healthcare records to examine differences in healthcare outcomes across different services in Scotland. Working with healthcare professionals and patients we will understand how vasculitis services are currently organised and how this relates to outcomes. We will also explore what aspects of care patients and staff value most and how they feel care could be improved.

Status: Complete

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