Do you or somebody you know have hip or knee osteoarthritis (OA)? 

The James Lind Alliance is interested in finding out YOUR views on where to focus research on hip or knee OA and are seeking views from those affected by OA or those caring for people affected by OA  They are currently hosting a survey open to: 

• Those diagnosed with hip or knee OA
• Those who suspect they have it
• Those at risk of getting it
• Those caring for somebody diagnosed with it
• Health, social care or complementary/alternative medicine practitioners and professionals caring for those diagnosed  

The survey is open until 31st January 2016 and is still looking for approximately 250 more responses - please help to identify where further research needs to be carried out by identifying the areas that matter the most to you and those you care for!

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The James Lind Alliance (JLA) brings together patients, carers and health and social care professionals in Priority Setting Partnerships to agree what research matters most in given disease areas.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a condition that causes the joints to become painful and stiff. It is the most common type of arthritis in the UK. The severity of symptoms can vary greatly from person to person, and between different affected joints.

This partnership is addressing research needs for any stage of the disease or treatment, except hip and knee replacement surgery which was addressed in a previous partnership.

By taking part you will help to identify unanswered questions about diagnosing and treating osteoarthritis of the hip and knee at a time when new technologies and approaches are becoming available.

 The first survey to collect questions was open in March/ April 2015. We had 217 responses, which gave us 1168 questions. We have reviewed all the questions, combined those that are similar, and removed those that are out of scope and those that have already been answered. We are left with 52 questions which we have grouped according to whether they are about surgical treatment, non-surgical treatment, or are other important questions.

This survey asks you to consider how important these questions are to you. We will then review the results in order to identify the top 30 most important questions. A Final Workshop will then work with these to ensure that the questions are as research-friendly as possible.

More information is available on the partnership website (see end of survey for link).

This is your chance to make your views known so please complete this survey if you: have been diagnosed with hip or knee osteoarthritis, think you might have it, or might be at risk of having it; are a carer of someone with it; or are a health, social care, alternative practitioner or professional caring for people with hip and knee osteoarthritis.

We are interested in how much of a priority each of the questions is to you, so do please work through all 3 sections. We think it should take you about 15-20 minutes to complete – a good opportunity to sit down with a cup of tea! 

We opened this survey on November 26th, and as of December 10th we have had an amazing 200 responses. We would really like 250-500 fully completed responses, split across patients/ carers and healthcare professionals. The survey will be open until January 31st 2016.

By participating in this survey you are agreeing to allow us to publish the questions you identify in the UK Database of Uncertainties about the Effects of Treatments (UK DUETs – www.library.nhs.uk/duets). 

Your name and details will not be published.

Please complete the survey on the following pages. If you would prefer a paper copy, please e-mail sandra.regan@ouh.nhs.uk

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