Researching how socioeconomic inequalities can impact musculoskeletal pain and primary care
RHOTY 1. Researching how socioeconomic inequalities can impact musculoskeletal pain and primary care
This major study highlights link between deprivation, chronic pain, and unequal care.
Researchers from the MIDAS project, have collected and analysed data from over 1,800 people visiting their GP for chronic musculoskeletal pain. They found that individuals living in deprived neighbourhoods consulted with higher levels of pain and disability. They also revealed that current care is failing to close the inequality gap, with higher opioid prescriptions and worse outcomes for people living in deprived areas.
“This was a study, that’s about uses of data to try and identify and highlight inequalities in musculoskeletal health and care.”
The hope is that we can use data to provide the hard evidence needed to raise awareness about the scale of inequalities in musculoskeletal health and care and improve services and conditions for people living with musculoskeletal pain conditions in places with the greatest need.
“This research benefits people with arthritis in multiple ways: providing better resourcing to general practices that serve more deprived communities; drawing attention to, and increasing efforts to redress, some of the inequalities that exist in the community; and continuing to use and improve data to monitor inequalities and assess whether we are actually being successful in reducing them.”
This project was led by researchers from Keele University and Sheffield Hallam University and co-funded by Arthritis UK and the Nuffield Foundation through the Oliver Bird Fund.
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The other five research projects on our shortlist
Using immune cell health to track disease activity in juvenile idiopathic arthritis.
Find out moreUsing genes from nearly 2 million people to better understand the biology of osteoarthritis.
Find out moreLevelling up an osteoarthritis peer support intervention to help people facing socioeconomic disadvantage.
Find out moreInvestigating how sex differences play a role in the immune system.
Find out moreInvestigating how changes in immune cells can help us understand what remission in rheumatoid arthritis really looks like.
Find out moreChoose your favourite
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