The BRIDGE Rehabilitation Trial

National Resource Center for Rehabilitation in Rheumatology

Status: Completed

Conditions: Musculoskeletal Disease

Treatments: Behavioral: The BRIDGE program; Behavioral: Current rehabilitation

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT03102814

Project nr 97033

Details and patient eligibility

About

The main aim of this multi-centre stepped wedge randomized controlled trial is to improve the quality, professional practice and cost-effective utilization of health care resources by evaluating if a new rehabilitation program aimed at bridging gaps in rehabilitation across levels of care may increase and/or prolong the effect of rehabilitation.

Full description

The goal of rehabilitation is to help people to reach and maintain their optimal functioning and coping capabilities, and to promote independence and participation in society. According to current political documents, there are large variation in the content and quality of rehabilitation in Norway, and systems to improve coordination and communication are needed.

This trial is a collaborative project between eight centres across Norway, investigating whether a new program aimed at bridging gaps in rehabilitation across levels of care increase and/or prolong the effect of rehabilitation for people with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases. Additionally, we will use a newly developed set of quality indicators to monitor and compare the quality of rehabilitation across different centres, and explore relationships between adherence to structure and process indicators and the outcomes of rehabilitation.

The effects will be evaluated in a multi-centre stepped wedge randomized controlled trial, where participating centres switch from control (current rehabilitation program) to intervention phase (adding the BRIDGE program to the current program) in a randomized order. Primary outcome is goal attainment after seven months, and secondary outcomes are health related quality of life and function.

The results will give insight in the content and organisation of current rehabilitation programs, what follow-up people want and receive in primary care, their planned and completed efforts to implement and maintain life style changes, and predictors for improvement following rehabilitation in specialist health care. Results will also have consequences on how rehabilitation is to be organized in the future regarding follow-up and coordination across levels of care.

The study has been developed in close collaboration with patient research partners, clinicians and international experts, who will also contribute in the process of integrating study results in clinical practice.

Enrollment: 381 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 100 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• inflammatory rheumatic disease or osteoarthritis or fibromyalgia or low back pain or wide spread pain or osteoporosis. Having a good understanding of Norwegian and having a bank-ID

Exclusion criteria

• Cognitive impairment or severe psychiatric disorder

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Sequential Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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381 participants in 2 patient groups

Current rehabilitation program

Active Comparator group

Description:

The control group will receive the rehabilitation program currently provided at each participating centre at the start of the study.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Current rehabilitation

BRIDGE rehabilitation program

Experimental group

Description:

In intervention phase, the BRIDGE program will be added to the current program.

Treatment:

Behavioral: The BRIDGE program