Developing a core outcome set for community and primary care musculoskeletal services: A consensus approach

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Clinical Epidemiology
• Rehabilitation Science

Background:

• No standardized Core Outcome Set (COS) exists for UK community and primary care Musculoskeletal (MSK) services.
• Inconsistent data collection hinders benchmarking and quality improvement for MSK care.
• Standardization is crucial for millions of patients with MSK disorders annually.

Purpose of the Study:

• To achieve consensus on metrics for a COS in UK primary/community MSK services.
• To inform recommendations for a national MSK audit.
• To improve routine data collection and care quality.

Main Methods:

• Consensus process involving researchers, healthcare professionals, and patients.
• Initial metric list generated from prior research.
• Online survey for wider stakeholder consensus (professionals and service users).

Main Results:

• 199 respondents (166 professionals, 33 users) participated.
• Strong consensus on baseline metrics: age, pain site, comorbidities, symptom duration, work status, and absence.
• No Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) achieved strong consensus; most Patient-Reported Experience Measures (PREMs) did.

Conclusions:

• 7 baseline factors and 9 PREM domains reached strong consensus.
• The MSK-HQ PROM was the highest-rated outcome measure.
• Recommendations for inclusion in an MSK COS and national audit were made.