Testing a Brief Reassurance Message Before a Musculoskeletal Clinic Visit

The University of Texas System (UT)

Status: Not yet enrolling

Conditions: Any Non-traumatic Musculoskeletal Condition

Treatments: Behavioral: Nudge intervention

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT07330492

STUDY00004831.3

Details and patient eligibility

About

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if a brief, reassuring pre-visit message affects patients' expectations and planned follow-up care in adults with common musculoskeletal conditions. The main questions it aims to answer are:

• Does reading a brief reassurance message before a clinic visit change how interested patients are in additional care, such as follow-up visits, tests, injections, or surgery?
• Does the message affect whether patients actually schedule follow-up care after the visit?

Researchers will compare participants who receive the pre-visit reassurance message to those who receive usual care to see if the message changes patients' enthusiasm for care or their follow-up decisions.

Participants will:

1. Read a short, easy-to-understand message about musculoskeletal symptoms and options for care (for those in the intervention group)
2. Complete a brief questionnaire rating their interest in follow-up visits, tests, injections, or surgery
3. Have their scheduled follow-up care recorded after the clinic visit

Enrollment: 144 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Adult (18+ years)
• English or Spanish language literacy
• Seeking musculoskeletal specialty care
• Diagnosed with any non-traumatic musculoskeletal condition
• New or return patient to clinic

Exclusion criteria

• Cognitive or other impairment precluding completion of a survey on a tablet
• Acute traumatic pathophysiology (fracture, dislocation, sprain/strain)

Trial design

Primary purpose: Health Services Research

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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144 participants in 2 patient groups

Intervention Arm (Nudge / Reassurance Message)

Experimental group

Description:

Participants randomized to the intervention group will read a brief, easy-to-understand message (generated by a Large Language Model) before their musculoskeletal clinic visit. The message explains that many musculoskeletal symptoms are common, often related to normal body changes, and can improve with simple self-care. It emphasizes that visits, tests, injections, and treatments are often optional, and patients can decide how much care they wish to pursue. After reading the message, participants will complete a short questionnaire rating their interest in follow-up visits, tests, injections, and surgery. Clinicians providing care will be blinded to participants' group assignment.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Nudge intervention

Control arm (Usual Care)

No Intervention group

Description:

Participants randomized to the control group will receive usual care prior to their musculoskeletal clinic visit, without any pre-visit reassurance message. They will complete the same questionnaire rating their interest in follow-up visits, tests, injections, and surgery. Clinicians providing care will be blinded to participants' group assignment.