Investigations for radiculopathy: The patient perspective. A qualitative, interpretative inquiry
Investigations for radiculopathy: The patient perspective. A qualitative, interpretative inquiry
Background:
Clinical guidelines recommend that investigations, such as magnetic resonance imaging, are offered only when likely to change management. Meanwhile, the optimal process of diagnosing radiculopathy remains uncertain and, in clinical practice, differences of opinion can occur between patient and clinician regarding the perceived importance of investigations.
Objectives:
To explore peoples' experiences of investigations and the effect of concordance between clinical presentation and investigation findings.
Methods:
In this qualitative study, 14 participants who had recently undergone investigations for a clinical presentation of radiculopathy were purposively recruited from an NHS, Primary Care Service in the United Kingdom. Based on the principles of interpretative phenomenological analysis, individual, semi-structured interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data were managed using a framework approach and analysed thematically.
Findings:
Although people reported wanting investigations to understand the cause of symptoms and inform management, access to them was reported to be difficult and protracted. When investigations revealed potentially relevant findings, people experienced relief, validation, empowerment and decisive decision-making. Disappointment emerged, however, regarding treatment options and waiting times, and long-term prognosis. When investigations failed to identify relevant findings, people were unable to make sense of their symptoms, relinquish their search to identify the cause, or to move forward in their management.
Conclusions:
This study provides the first reported in-depth interpretation of peoples' experience of undergoing investigations specifically for radiculopathy. Important implications have been identified for: investigation referral criteria; shared-decision-making; information sharing and managing expectations and disappointment.
71-76
Ryan, Clare
9717a202-01e9-41b1-b2f3-44a08e1232fd
Roberts, Lisa
0a937943-5246-4877-bd6b-4dcd172b5cd0
February 2018
Ryan, Clare
9717a202-01e9-41b1-b2f3-44a08e1232fd
Roberts, Lisa
0a937943-5246-4877-bd6b-4dcd172b5cd0
Ryan, Clare and Roberts, Lisa
(2018)
Investigations for radiculopathy: The patient perspective. A qualitative, interpretative inquiry.
Musculoskeletal Science and Practice, 33, .
(doi:10.1016/j.msksp.2017.11.005).
Abstract
Background:
Clinical guidelines recommend that investigations, such as magnetic resonance imaging, are offered only when likely to change management. Meanwhile, the optimal process of diagnosing radiculopathy remains uncertain and, in clinical practice, differences of opinion can occur between patient and clinician regarding the perceived importance of investigations.
Objectives:
To explore peoples' experiences of investigations and the effect of concordance between clinical presentation and investigation findings.
Methods:
In this qualitative study, 14 participants who had recently undergone investigations for a clinical presentation of radiculopathy were purposively recruited from an NHS, Primary Care Service in the United Kingdom. Based on the principles of interpretative phenomenological analysis, individual, semi-structured interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data were managed using a framework approach and analysed thematically.
Findings:
Although people reported wanting investigations to understand the cause of symptoms and inform management, access to them was reported to be difficult and protracted. When investigations revealed potentially relevant findings, people experienced relief, validation, empowerment and decisive decision-making. Disappointment emerged, however, regarding treatment options and waiting times, and long-term prognosis. When investigations failed to identify relevant findings, people were unable to make sense of their symptoms, relinquish their search to identify the cause, or to move forward in their management.
Conclusions:
This study provides the first reported in-depth interpretation of peoples' experience of undergoing investigations specifically for radiculopathy. Important implications have been identified for: investigation referral criteria; shared-decision-making; information sharing and managing expectations and disappointment.
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Investigations for radiculopathy - the patient perspective ACCEPTED
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Investigations for Radiculopathy: The Patient Perspective. A Qualitative, Interpretative Inquiry
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More information
Accepted/In Press date: 18 November 2017
e-pub ahead of print date: 21 November 2017
Published date: February 2018
Additional Information:
This paper was presented at the Society for Back Pain Research conference in Northampton on 2nd November 2017 and Clare Ryan won the 'New investigator's award'.
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 415987
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/415987
ISSN: 2468-7812
PURE UUID: 0a72cf73-9c64-410c-9e8f-74a6ac284d12
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Date deposited: 29 Nov 2017 17:30
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 05:57
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Author:
Clare Ryan
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