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MOPeD Study is funded by NIHR
MOPeD Study is funded by NIHR

This website presents independent research funded by Health Education England and supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and Keele University under a Clinical Doctoral Research Fellowship (NIHR301550). The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NHS, NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care.

WHY IS THIS STUDY IMPORTANT?

There are approximately 9000 physiotherapy assistants/support workers in the UK. Many of them work in NHS physiotherapy outpatient services treating patients with musculoskeletal or painful muscle and joint conditions. However, their role is not well defined and their duties and tasks vary from one service to another. This may lead to unjustified variation in care and services delivered to patients.

WHAT IS THE AIM?

This study aims to develop a ‘best practice’ framework of delegation to physiotherapy assistants in NHS musculoskeletal outpatient physiotherapy services.

HOW WILL WE DO IT?

We have worked with a group of patients to develop this study. They all have experience of treatment from a physiotherapist and/or physiotherapy assistant for musculoskeletal conditions. This group will continue to have an active role in contributing to the study which will use different research designs across three stages.

TEAM MEMBERS

Photograph image of Panos Sarigiovannis

Panos Sarigiovannis

NIHR/HEE Clinical Doctoral Research Fellow
Panos Sarigiovannis is a Musculoskeletal Clinical Specialist in Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. He qualified in 1997 (Leeds Metropolitan University) and after completing his junior rotations in Hull he moved to Staffordshire where he has been employed in various clinical managerial and professional leadership roles within the primary care setting. He completed his NIHR/HEE Pre-Doctoral Clinical Academic Fellowship (PCAF) in December 2020 and in January 2021 he was awarded an NIHR/HEE Doctoral Research Fellowship (CDRF). His current professional interests include implementation of outcome measures, skill mix and effectiveness of delegation.
Photograph of Dr Benjamin Saunders

Dr Benjamin Saunders

Lead Academic Supervisor
Dr Benjamin Saunders is a Lecturer in Applied Health Research at Keele University Medical School. He has several years’ experience working in applied clinical research in musculoskeletal conditions, and is currently the lead social science qualitative researcher on various NIHR programme grants. His main area of expertise is in the use of qualitative research methods applied to healthcare settings. Ben is Panos’ primary supervisor for his Clinical Doctoral Research Fellowship (CDRF).
Photograph of Professor Nadine E Foster

Professor Nadine E Foster

Academic Supervisor
Nadine Foster is a physiotherapist, Fellow of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, and previous National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Senior Investigator and NIHR Research Professor. She has recently moved to the role of Professor and Director of the STARS Education and Research Alliance between the University of Queensland and Metro North Hospital and Health System (HHS) in Queensland, Australia (STARS: Surgical, Treatment and Rehabilitation Service). She leads the Research and Education portfolio within STARS, including a team of conjoint appointments between the University and HHS, across the disciplines of physiotherapy, nursing, speech therapy and occupational therapy, interdisciplinary education and research management. Her research focuses on musculoskeletal pain, including low back pain and osteoarthritis, and she has a particular interest in developing, testing and implementing treatments and health services. She has led or collaborated on more than 22 randomised trials, attracting over £43 million in research funding from.
Photograph of Professor Sue Jowett

Professor Sue Jowett

Academic Supervisor
Sue Jowett is a Professor in the Health Economics Unit at the University of Birmingham and an Honorary Senior Lecturer at the Primary Care Centre Versus Arthritis at Keele University. She has considerable experience of health economics research, working in the discipline for over 15 years. Her research interests focus on applied economic evaluations and the measurement of costs and outcomes, and she has a particular interest in the economics of chronic disease prevention and treatment in primary and community care settings. She leads the long-standing formal collaboration between the Health Economics Unit (HEU) at the University of Birmingham and the Primary Care Centre Versus Arthritis at Keele University. As lead of the collaboration with Keele, Sue oversees the health economics aspects of many trials and cohort studies and is the lead health economist on research grant applications.
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