ObjectiveTo explore participants’ perspectives on, and experiences of, being assigned to a wait-and-see arm of a gluteal tendinopathy trial.DesignDescriptive qualitative.SettingGeneral community in Brisbane and Melbourne, Australia.ParticipantsFifteen participants who had been randomly allocated to the wait-and-see group in a recent parallel group superiority clinical trial. That trial compared the wait-and-see approach to a physiotherapist-led education plus exercise approach, and an ultrasound-guided corticosteroid injection. The wait-and-see approach involved one physiotherapy session in which participants received reassurance, general advice and encouragement to stay active for the management of gluteal tendinopathy.Data collection and analysisSemistructured interviews were conducted by four interviewers in person or over the internet, audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Transcripts were coded and data analysed using an inductive thematic approach.ResultsFive themes were extracted from the interview transcripts: (1) Feeling disenfranchised by being assigned to a wait-and-see approach; (2) the importance of having a clinical and imaging diagnosis during screening for inclusion into the clinical trial; (3) feelings regarding the effectiveness of the approach; (4) the convenient and easy to follow nature of the wait-and-see approach and (5) the connotation of wait-and-see not always being perceived as an intervention.ConclusionsParticipants found the wait-and-see approach convenient and easy to follow, yet almost always felt disenfranchised that nothing was being done. Participants highlighted the importance of a definite clinical and imaging diagnosis.Trial registration numberACTRN12612001126808; Post-results.
Background
Public Health registrars (SpRs) were an important component of the workforce that contributed to the COVID-19 response. This study explores their contribution and the impact the early stages of the pandemic had on their learning and training.
Methods
Data were collected from SpRs in the London and Kent, Surrey, Sussex training programme between July and September 2020 through a mixture of questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. A thematic analysis of interview transcripts was undertaken to identify themes.
Results
35/128 SpRs responded to the survey and 11 were interviewed. SpRs were placed across a range of organizations and made a significant contribution to the COVID-19 response. Overall, SpRs learned important skills but working on the response may for some have impacted negatively on training. A number of facilitators and barriers to learning were identified.
Conclusion
The study findings highlight the opportunities for learning created by the pandemic. However, changing projects and the desire of SpRs to contribute to the response meant the impacts on training were mixed. Future deployment of SpRs should consider the balance of responsibility and pace when delegating work, as well as the need to supervise effectively and support remote working to maintain good mental wellbeing.
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