Backgrounds and Aims
One of the key roles of ANZMUSC is to facilitate high quality clinical trials in the area of musculoskeletal health. The principal ways of doing this are to provide an advisory service for ANZMUSC members planning or conducting a trial (e.g. scientific and operational support to improve the design and conduct of the trial, fund-raising, dissemination of results/implementation plan, engagement with stakeholders, consumer input) and to endorse high quality clinical trials that are being conducted by its members.
What does endorsement mean?
Endorsement means more than a ‘rubber-stamp’ of approval. It includes a process of ensuring high quality trial design and conduct but also confers a degree of ‘ownership’ to ANZMUSC members.
Trials endorsed by ANZMUSC will need to be prospectively registered, conform to best practice guidelines (e.g. those from the Equator Network) and regulatory standards (e.g. ICH GCP, National Statement), require regular reporting to ANZMUSC and presentation of updates at the annual scientific meeting, and agree to abide by ICMJE authorship guidelines and ANZMUSC Publication Policy.
ANZMUSC endorsement will provide benefits to both parties: ANZMUSC will gain greater recognition in the research community to enable it to act as a peak body for musculoskeletal research and to achieve its goals. Trialists and their trials will benefit from methodological input, and ANZMUSC endorsement may assist with gaining community and professional acceptance, funding, and implementation.
Process of ANZMUSC endorsement
The following process is required for all studies seeking ANZMUSC endorsement. All applicants will apply to present their trial in an open forum at an ANZMUSC meeting. Only proposals that fit ANZMUSC criteria will be accepted. Presentations will normally occur at the annual ANZMUSC scientific meeting.
- Following the open forum, trialists that feel their trial is fully developed may submit an endorsement application to the Executive Committee. This is done by submitting an application form and a copy of the trial protocol. The application is then sent to the Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) and Consumer Advisory Group (CAG for review).
- Reviews are completed by two members of the SAC and two consumers of the CAG. Reviewers will be asked to provide comments to the trialists within 2 weeks of submission. In the rare instances where this is not possible, triallists will be notified and an acceptable time frame agreed with the trialist. Trialists will be asked to provide responses to comments to the SAC and CAG within 2 weeks of submission. In the rare instances where this is not possible, the SAC Chair will be notified and an acceptable time frame agreed with the trialist.
- SAC Chair and CAG chair to present endorsement recommendations, reviewers’ comments and responses to EC for final decision. The EC will decide to endorse, not endorse, or suggest further development.
- The applicant is notified of the decision with a formal letter from the Executive Committee within six weeks of submission. This letter lists the conditions and requirements of endorsement that must be accepted by the applicant.
- Projects marked for development will need to be revised and resubmitted totheExecutive Committeefor endorsement. This process is expected to involve interaction between the investigators and the SAC / condition specific working group prior to resubmission in order to increase the likelihood of endorsement.
Criteria for ANZMUSC endorsements
Only clinical trials in the field of musculoskeletal health will be considered and must:
- Satisfy an ANZMUSC research priority (reflecting important disease burden and an important evidence or evidence-practice gap)
- Present evidence confirming that the research question is one that the clinical and/or consumer community want answered
- Be of high quality (e.g. minimising risk of bias, ensuring appropriate power) and include an economic evaluation and process measures where relevant
- Be feasible (reflecting cost, logistics, track record and likely recruitment rate)
- Show strong potential to change practice and/or policy (reflecting academic impact, implementation, and generalisability)
- Be multicentre (to encourage collaboration, increase power and increase implementation of findings). Multicentre means that participants are recruited from more than one hospital/research institute/practice or university site. Trials that include sites across multiple regions, states or territories or countries will be highly regarded.
- Have clear evidence of consumer partnership during the design of the trial and plans to actively engage with consumers in the dissemination of results.
- Have a Chief Investigator who is a registered full member of the ANZMUSC Clinical Trials Network.
Endorsed Trials
Browse our endorsed trials
Number | Award Year | Chief Investigator | Project | Registration | Publications | Other |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2017 | Professor Ian Harris, University of New South Wales | A Combined Randomised and Observational Study of Surgery for Fractures In the distal Radius in the Elderly (CROSSFIRE). | ACTRN12616000969460 | ||
2 | 2017 | Professor Michele Sterling, The University of QLD | Targeting pro-nociception to prevent chronic pain after whiplash injury | ACTRN12617000059369 | https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-018-2450-9 | |
3 | 2017 | Professor Rebecca Ivers, The University of New South Wales | Preventing Falls in Older Aboriginal people: The IRONBARK Trial | ACTRN12619000349145 | https://doi.org/10.1136/injuryprev-2020-043915 | |
4 | 2017 | Professor Richard Day, University of New South Wales | Effectiveness of an electronic patient-centred self-management tool for Gout sufferers: a Cluster randomised controlled trial | ACTRN12616000455460 | https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2017-017281 | |
5 | 2017 | Professor Manuela Ferreira, The University of Sydney | SUcceSS: SUrgery for Spinal Stenosis - a randomised placebo-controlled trial | ACTRN12617000884303 | https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2018-024944 | https://www.sydney.edu.au/research/volunteer-for-research-study/pain-and-injury/success--surgery-for-spinal-stenosis.html |
6 | 2018 | Professor Christine Lin, The University of Sydney | OASIS - Oral Steroids for Acute Sciatica | ACTRN12619001716156 | https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-040559 | |
7 | 2018 | Dr Gustavo Machado, Institute for Musculoskeletal Health, The University of Sydney | Sydney Health Partners Emergency Department (SHAPED) trial: Implementation of an evidence-based model of care for low back pain in emergency departments | ACTRN12617001160325 | https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2017-019052 | |
8 | 2018 | Associate Professor Dawn Aitken, Menzies Institute for Medical Research, Tasmania | DICKENS - A randomised controlled trial of DIaCerein to treat KneE osteoarthritis with effusioN-Synovitis | ACTRN12618001656224 | https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-022-06715-w | |
9 | 2018 | Professor Ian Harris, University of New South Wales | CRISTAL: A randomised, crossover, non-inferiority trial of aspirin compared to low molecular weight heparin for venous thromboembolism prophylaxis and safety in hip or knee arthroplasty, a registry nested study | ACTRN12618001879257 | https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2022.13416 | |
10 | 2018 | Professor Cathy Sherrington, Institute for Musculoskeletal Health, The University of Sydney | COaching Exercise Better wAlKing”: Physical activity coaching for adults with physical disability: The COmEBAcK pragmatic randomised controlled trial | ACTRN12618001983291 | https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2019-034696 | |
11 | 2018 | Professor Lisa Keay, UNSW, The George Institute | Expedited cataract surgery to prevent falls: the BRIGhT trial - Best pRactIce surGical and refractTive management for cataract | ACTRN12618002018291 | N/A | |
12 | 2018 | Professor Christine Lin, The University of Sydney | OPAL - OPioids for Acute spinaL pain | ACTRN12615000775516 | https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(23)00404-X | |
13 | 2019 | Professor Ian Harris, University of New South Wales | The ARC (Australian Rotator Cuff) Trial, a placebo controlled randomised trial of repair of degenerative rotator cuff tears | ACTRN12620000789965 | https://www.arcstudy.org | |
14 | 2019 | Dr Adrian Traeger, Institute for Musculoskeletal Health, The University of Sydney | NUDG-ED: Trial of a behavioural ‘nudging’ intervention to reduce unnecessary imaging of low back pain in the Emergency Department | ACTRN12623001000695 | https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2023-079870 | |
15 | 2019 | Professor Bill Vicenzino, The University of Queensland | Novel Education and Exercise, multi-modal physical Therapy or brief advice for patellofemoral pain: a randomized clinical trial (The NEET trial) | |||
16 | 2019 | Dr Laura Laslett, Menzies Institute for Medical Research, Tasmania | A randomised trial of denosumab to treat Modic associated low back pain | ACTRN12614000719639 | https://doi.org/10.1002/jbmr.3376 | |
17 | 2019 | Dr Denise O'Connor, Monash Univerity & Cabrini Institute | Evaluating a patient decision aid for people with knee osteoarthritis considering arthroscopic surgery: a randomised controlled trial | ACTRN12622000204741 | ||
18 | 2019 | Professor Rana Hinman, The University of Melbourne | Telerehabilitation consultations with a physiotherapist for chronic knee pain versus in-person consultations in Australia: the PEAK non-inferiority randomised controlled trial | ACTRN12619001240134 | https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(23)02630-2 | |
19 | 2019 | Professor Kim Bennell, University of Melbourne | Effects of an intensive diet program in addition to exercise in people with hip osteoarthritis who are overweight or obese: a randomised controlled trial | ACTRN12619001045101 | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12891-022-05128-9 | |
20 | 2019 | Associate Professor Jane Fitzpatrick, The University of Melbourne | Autologous Protein Solution (APS)– the BIOlogical symptom management of HIP osteoarthritis. The BIOHIP Trial | N/A | N/A | |
21 | 2020 | Professor Mark Hancock, Macquarie University | WalkBack: Preventing recurrence of low back pain | ACTRN12619001134112 | ||
22 | 2020 | Associate Professor Anne Tiedemann, The University of Sydney | Preventing falls in older age with yoga-based exercise: effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and implementation | ACTRN12619001183178 | ||
23 | 2020 | Dr Benny Antony | A randomised trial of Curcuma longa extract for treating Knee OsteoArthritis (CurKOA trial) | ACTRN12618000080224 | https://doi.org/10.7326/M20-0990 | |
24 | 2020 | Professor Rebecca Ivers, The University of New South Wales | Implementation and adaptation of models of care for hip fracture in resource poor settings | |||
25 | 2020 | Associate Professor Peter Malliaras, Monash University | The efficacy of high-dose exercise for rotator cuff disease: a randomised placebo controlled trial | N/A | N/A | |
26 | 2020 | Dr Adam Semciw, La Trobe University | Hip Osteoarthritis and foot Orthotics Trial (HOOT) | NCT05138380 | https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2022-062954 | |
27 | 2020 | Dr Stephanie Mathieson | Testing Analgesics for Musculoskeletal Pain upon Emergency department Discharge (TAMED) | N/A | N/A | |
28 | 2021 | Associate Professor Ben Darlow, University of Otago | Te Tauwhiro Turi mā te Rongoā: Knee Care for Arthritis through Pharmacy Study (KneeCAPS) | ACTRN12622000469718 | https://doi.org/10.1002/msc.1785 | |
29 | 2022 | Professor Christine Lin, The University of Sydney | ORACLE: Opioid reduction after arthroplasty, a cluster randomised trial | |||
30 | 2022 | Dr Gustavo Machado, Institute for Musculoskeletal Health, The University of Sydney | IMPROV-ED: A de-implementation trial to reduce low-value care for low back pain in emergency departments | |||
31 | 2022 | Dr Gustavo Machado, Institute for Musculoskeletal Health, The University of Sydney | ADAPT-ED: An adaptive, multi-arm multi-stage trial of analgesics for low back pain in the emergency department | |||
32 | 2022 | Dr Rana Dhillon, University of Melbourne & St Vincent's Hospital | Posterior Laminectomy and FIXation for Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy (POLYFIX) | |||
33 | 2023 | Prof Lyn March | PROSPECT trial: PRedicting disease-mOdifying anti-rheumatic drug doSe reduction response in rheumatoid and Psoriatic arthritis with EConomic evaluaTion |