Clinical trial NCT05046249: Swiss Chiropractic Cohort (Swiss ChiCo) Study: A Nationwide Practice-Based Research Network Project
Official title: Swiss Chiropractic Cohort (Swiss ChiCo) Study: A Nationwide Practice-Based Research Network Project
Study type: OBSERVATIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Conditions: Musculoskeletal Pain
Keywords: Chiropractic
Health care quality
Musculoskeletal health
Manual medicine
Lead sponsor: Balgrist University Hospital
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: University of Zurich
name: University of Southern Denmark, Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics
name: Swiss Chiropractic Association (ChiroSuisse)
name: Swiss Chiropractic Patient Association (Pro Chiropractic Switzerland)
First posted: 2021-09-16
Enrollment: 151
Sex: ALL
Standard ages: CHILD
ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Observational model: COHORT
Time perspective: CROSS_SECTIONAL
Sampling method: NON_PROBABILITY_SAMPLE
Study population: All active chiropractors in Switzerland

Brief summary: The Swiss chiropractic cohort (Swiss ChiCo) practice-based research network (PBRN) is nationwide research project with the aim to develop a musculoskeletal focused PBRN within the Swiss chiropractic setting and describe the characteristics of clinicians recruited. Development of the PBRN has been guided through participatory engagement of multiple stakeholders including patients, clinicians, scientists, and policymakers.

Detailed description: Management of musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions is moving away from traditional medical treatments such as pain medication and towards more physical and preventative approaches. As a result, there is a need to describe manual care approaches to make informed decisions on how best to use this capacity in the current health care system. While this literature is emerging, very little is collected from clinical settings where the large majority of MSK care occurs. The lack of clinically collected data creates gaps in patient-centred research and difficulties with knowledge implementation in treatment settings.

To help bridge this divide, countries such as the United Kingdom, Canada, Sweden, and Australia have established MSK-focused practice-based research networks (PBRNs). PBRNs are sustained collaborations between practitioners and academicians. This collaboration allows patient recruitment from diverse clinical settings and allows practitioners to be more actively involved in the research process. As a result data collected, and subsequent recommendations may have greater clinical utility than that which comes from more traditional research-only settings.

This study aims to develop a MSK focused PBRN within the Swiss chiropractic setting and describe the characteristics of clinicians recruited. It represents a collaborative effort of international researchers, Swiss chiropractic clinicians, and the chiropractic patient and clinical associations in Switzerland (Pro Chiropractic Switzerland and ChiroSuisse). Clinicians will endorse participation in the PBRN by completing an electronic study form. Once established, nested sub-studies will be conducted within this new clinical research environment. Through stakeholder engagement and institutional support, the Swiss ChiCo PBRN can serve as an important resource to advance chiropractic and MSK health services research.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Active clinician members of the Swiss Chiropractic Association (ChiroSuisse)

Primary outcomes:
measure: Self-confidence in clinical management of patients with low back pain
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Biomedical versus biopsychosocial treatment orientation
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Participation proportion (feasibility outcome)
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Motivation for clinician participation in a PBRN sub-study (feasibility outcome)
timeFrame: Baseline
Secondary outcomes:
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Zurich
country: Switzerland
facility: Balgrist University Hospital
Study officials:
affiliation: Balgrist University Hospital and University of Zurich
name: Cesar A Hincapié, DC PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
citation: Lalji R, Hofstetter L, Kongsted A, von Wyl V, Puhan MA, Hincapie CA. Swiss chiropractic practice-based research network and musculoskeletal pain cohort pilot study: protocol of a nationwide resource to advance musculoskeletal health services research. BMJ Open. 2022 Jul 13;12(7):e059380. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-059380.
citation: Lalji R, Hofstetter L, Kongsted A, von Wyl V, Puhan MA, Hincapie CA. The Swiss chiropractic practice-based research network: a population-based cross-sectional study to inform future musculoskeletal research. Sci Rep. 2023 Apr 6;13(1):5655. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-32437-3.