Online Education to Improve the Management of Rotator Cuff Related Shoulder Pain

April 4, 2023 updated by: Marmara University

Randomized Controlled Trial of Online Education for Physiotherapy Students to Improve the Management of Rotator Cuff Related Shoulder Pain

A randomized controlled trial: Conservative treatments including physiotherapy and rehabilitation in the management of rotator cuff-related shoulder pain (RCRSP) are generally accepted as the first-line treatment approach, however, it is known that the disease-specific physiotherapy methods used by physiotherapists are highly variable. This may be caused by the insufficient knowledge of therapists about evidence-based interventions to RCRSP. The aim of this study is to develop the '' Rotator Cuff Related Shoulder Pain E-learning Program'' and evaluate its effect on students' knowledge and clinical reasoning skills related to evidence-based RCRSP interventions and their levels of confidence to have this knowledge compared with a control group.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Shoulder pain is one of society's most common musculoskeletal problems, with a prevalence defined between 16-26%. Almost 70% of shoulder pain complaints are caused by pathologies associated with the rotator cuff. Conservative treatments including physiotherapy are widely accepted as a first-line treatment approach in the management of shoulder pain and on the other hand, the variety of physiotherapy practice is conspicuous. Despite the majority of physiotherapists provide treatment in line with current evidence, passive modalities are still highly preferred by some physiotherapists. The gap between research evidence and practice could be slightly due to the lack of an up-to-date undergraduate physiotherapy curriculum about the RCRSP. Therefore, the aim of this study is to develop the '' Rotator Cuff Related Shoulder Pain E-learning Program'' and evaluate its effect on students' knowledge and clinical reasoning skills related to evidence-based RCRSP interventions and their levels of confidence to have this knowledge compared with a control group. A randomized controlled trial including 146 4th grade physiotherapy students will be conducted. Students will be randomized into an e-learning group (n=73) or wait-list control group (n=73). The primary outcome will be the RCRSP achievement test, and the secondary outcome will be the self-reported confidence in knowledge and clinical reasoning skills related to RCRSP. All data will be collected through an online survey, which will be applied in two different time periods: pre-intervention and post-intervention. All groups will first answer the questionnaire at the beginning (week 0) and after the study group's e-learning activity (4-5 weeks).

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

198

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Turkey
      • İstanbul, Turkey
        • Marmara University

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child
  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • 3th or 4th grade physiotherapy students

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Students who are not currently enrolled in 3th or 4th grade

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Other
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: E-learning Group
Participants will enroll in a 4-week e-learning program immediately after completing the pre-intervention assessment measures.
Other: Rotator Cuff Related Shoulder Pain E-Learning Program
The RCRSP e-learning program is designed according to the ADDIE Instructional Design Model in light of current literature.
Active Comparator: Wait-list Control Group
Participants will enroll in a 4-week e-learning program, 4-5 weeks after completion of the pre-intervention assessment measures.
Other: Rotator Cuff Related Shoulder Pain E-Learning Program
The RCRSP e-learning program is designed according to the ADDIE Instructional Design Model in light of current literature.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Rotator cuff related shoulder pain achievement test
Time Frame: Change from baseline test scores at 4 weeks
The RCRSP achievement test is consistent with 18 question items with multiple choices. The mean difficulty and KR-20 reliability coefficient of the test were calculated 0.59 and 0.84, respectively.
Change from baseline test scores at 4 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Self-reported confidence in knowledge and clinical reasoning skills related to rotator cuff related shoulder pain
Time Frame: Change from baseline self-reported scores at 4 weeks
The 3-item Questionnaire requires participants to rate their confidence in their knowledge and clinical skills related to RCRSP, using a 5-point Likert Scale ('not at all confident', 'not very confident', 'somewhat confident', 'confident' and 'very confident').
Change from baseline self-reported scores at 4 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Marmara University

Investigators

  • Study Chair: Mine Gülden Polat, PhD., Marmara University
  • Principal Investigator: Bahar Ayberk, PhD., Marmara University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

November 20, 2022

Primary Completion (Actual)

February 10, 2023

Study Completion (Actual)

April 3, 2023

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

June 17, 2021

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 28, 2021

First Posted (Actual)

July 7, 2021

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

April 6, 2023

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 4, 2023

Last Verified

October 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 16.11.2020.95

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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