Major Boost For Primary Care Research At Keele University As National Arthritis Charity Awards 2.5m Pounds Funding, UK

Main Category: Arthritis
Also Included In: Primary Care / General Practice
Article Date: 16 Apr 2008 - 1:00 PDT

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A major new centre promoting research into primary care has been created at Keele University with funding of £2.5m over five years from a leading arthritis charity.

The Arthritis Research Campaign National Primary Care Centre at Keele will have a direct benefit on the thousands of people in the UK who suffer from painful joint and muscle problems.

Although those with the most severe forms of arthritis attend hospital specialists, this is only the tip of a very large iceberg. Around 20 per cent of UK adults consult their GP about arthritis or a related musculoskeletal condition every year. Despite this, research into the most appropriate methods of investigation and treatment in primary care, which is carried out by physiotherapists and nurses as well as GPs, has attracted little funding and attention.

Director of the new centre, Professor Peter Croft, said he hoped that it would have a considerable impact on the way people with conditions such as back pain and osteoarthritis are treated, and increase the status of primary care research.

"Primary care - where most people with painful joints and muscles are treated - has often been the poor partner in the NHS, lacking the size and focus of the hospital," said Professor Croft. "Until recently, research in primary care has been very much a second class citizen receiving only a fraction of the funding that hospitals can attract.

"Our new centre will give a strong message that primary care is important and that a major national charity values research in that setting".

Medical director of the Arthritis Research Campaign Professor Alan Silman said: "At a time when the government policy is to shift care of patients with arthritis and joint and back problems from hospitals into primary care, it is vital that we look at the best ways of delivering this care to patients. As the leading research body investigating all forms of arthritis in the UK, we believe this investment of £2.5 million over the next five years reflects our commitment to improving the quality of life of patients with these common conditions."

The changing demographics of society - the population is getting older coupled with the growing problem of obesity - means that more and more people will develop osteoarthritis. "The most important consequence of our obesity epidemic and poor levels of physical activity will be osteoarthritis of the knee, and finding ways for primary care to help patients prevent their symptoms, and offer early effective treatment for this common condition is essential," he added.

Keele University is unusual among British universities in having placed primary care at the top of its research priorities for many years. Since the 1990s, Keele has also focused much of its research on musculoskeletal conditions. As a consequence arc has already funded numerous research projects to the tune of several millions of pounds over the years and the research group built up by Professor Croft is world leading in the field.

Keele's reputation has been built on a strong partnership with the local health community. The general practices and primary care trusts in Stoke on Trent, North Staffordshire and Cheshire have provided ongoing support, with many local arthritis patients taking part in clinical trials and studies.

A unique element of Keele's research success is the support it receives from the local population. Thousands of people have completed surveys, attended research sessions or been interviewed about their musculoskeletal problems and the effect they have had on their lives. An important component of the Keele research programme is that patients and members of the public have also become involved in helping to shape and develop and run the research itself.

The new centre will not only investigate the most effective treatments for people with musculoskeletal conditions but also test new ways of delivering these treatments in everyday clinical practice, so making a real difference to the lives of patients.

One of its top priority areas will be to tackle the problem of ensuring that people with arthritis stick to exercise regimes, in order to reduce their pain and maintain their ability to do everyday activities.

Professor Elaine Hay, who will head these new research programmes at the centre, said "We know that exercise can help but we also know that patients often don't know what to do or how to do it and often don't keep up with it. Our new programme will look at different ways in which individual patients can be helped to identify the best exercise for them, and which they can then keep up. We are very much about providing practical answers to practical questions."

Other priorities will be to reduce the depression in older osteoarthritis sufferers which is related to the chronic pain, and to treat back pain more effectively.

Research carried out at Keele and largely funded by arc has shown that simple measures such as exercise and physiotherapy can dramatically improve the symptoms of arthritis. But getting this evidence into the real world and into everyday practice, with the agreement and support of patients and clinicians, has always been difficult. This will be one of the new centre's biggest challenges.

"The real prize will be if we can shift nationally the way in which common musculoskeletal problems like back pain and osteoarthritis are perceived and prioritised by the government, the health service and the public, and make a real change to how care is delivered," added Professor Croft.

Musculoskeletal problems such as back and neck pain, fibromyalgia and osteoarthritis are the most common causes of chronic pain, restricted activity in daily life and work loss in the UK. Many of these conditions are managed in primary care by GPs and other frontline health workers such as physiotherapists, nurses, podiatrists and occupational therapists.

The Arthritis Research Campaign is the fourth largest medical research charity in the UK with an annual income of more than £30m. It receives no government funding and relies entirely on public donations to fund its research programme. http://www.arc.org.uk

Keele University