Researchers working to reduce inequalities in musculoskeletal health across the region
Researchers from Keele University are working with communities across North Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent to reduce inequalities facing people with musculoskeletal conditions.
The term “musculoskeletal condition” refers to things like back pain and osteoarthritis, which can cause severe and persistent pain and significantly impact on people’s quality of life.
Statistics show that in some areas of Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire, as many as 1 in 3 adults aged 35 or over have one of these conditions which impact on their daily lives.
Conditions like arthritis and back pain are also more common in underserved communities; namely those with higher levels of poverty and those with a diverse range of ethnic backgrounds and cultures.
But the care people can access varies greatly between these regions, as do their health-seeking behaviours, and the research team are now looking at ways to change this to make access to healthcare more equitable.
Previous research has shown that these communities are less likely to engage with healthcare or seek help for their conditions, which in turn leads to worse outcomes. They are also less likely to engage with healthcare research, meaning services in their area are being planned for them, without good data about their health and needs.
Now a research team led by Professor Ross Wilkie is hoping to change that, by collecting information from 2500 people from underserved communities to learn more about their beliefs about pain and healthcare, to understand why some people in underserved communities experience more problems.
They will use this information from interviews with people in the local community to develop new ways to work with people to improve their quality of life, as well as their musculoskeletal health and wellbeing.
Crucially, people from these underserved communities will be involved from the outset to make sure researchers are asking the right questions to collect the best information, using this to help reduce the number of people who experience pain and its impact in the community with the greatest need. They will also contribute to the development of interventions.
The findings will also be presented to Government and other organisations interested in improving health for people with musculoskeletal conditions, to help change approaches and improve health for people in underserved communities across the United Kingdom.
Professor Wilkie said: “The aim of our population health research is to reduce the inequalities that are experienced by locally and nationally. I am looking forward to working with the local community to develop interventions that will improve health.
“Often interventions to improve health are not developed in communities who have the greatest need, and they often don’t work for individuals living in these communities. We know there are lots of people with musculoskeletal pain who are not engaging with healthcare; working with people in the community will hopefully encourage improvements in health across the community.
“I am really pleased for the team as we have building towards this work in our previous MIDAS study, and this provides a strong basis to further develop our work with local communities.”
