Musculoskeletal Clinicians' Perspectives on Integrated Digital Personalized Feedback Interventions to Address Risky...

Area of Science:

• Orthopedics
• Psychiatry
• Digital Health

Background:

• Risky alcohol use and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) frequently co-occur with musculoskeletal pain, hindering recovery.
• Web/app-based digital personalized feedback interventions (dPFIs) offer a promising adjunct for managing this comorbidity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess musculoskeletal clinicians' screening and referral practices for risky alcohol use and PTSD.
• To gauge clinician interest in integrated dPFIs for co-occurring alcohol use, PTSD, and pain.

Main Methods:

• An exploratory cross-sectional survey was administered to 138 musculoskeletal clinicians.
• The survey assessed current screening/referral methods and interest in a novel dPFI.

Main Results:

• Clinicians reported significant recovery challenges due to co-occurring risky alcohol use and PTSD.
• Screening relied heavily on interviews, with low use of validated tools; referral pathways were fragmented.
• High adoption readiness for integrated dPFIs was observed, with 89.1% expressing interest and 90.6% likely to refer patients.

Conclusions:

• Findings highlight the need for accessible, scalable integrated dPFIs in orthopedic settings.
• Digital interventions are favored by patients over traditional methods for managing these comorbidities.
• Developing integrated dPFIs for PTSD, risky alcohol use, and pain is strongly supported by clinician readiness.