Volunteer for a research study

RECOVER Injury Research Centre is conducting a study investigating how pain can be influenced by how we think and feel, to improve treatment for chronic pain sufferers.

Aims: 

The aim of this study is to examine the shared psychological and social factors associated with pain experience and pain management. 

Type of volunteers needed:

People who have chronic pain (defined as pain that has persisted for longer than 3 months past the healing time of an injury).

What is involved?

Participants will be asked to fill out a short online questionnaire about their thoughts and emotions associated with pain and pain management. Participation in this study will take approximately 20-30 minutes. 

What’s in it for me?

You will not personally benefit from the proposed research. However, you will have the opportunity to go into a draw to win 1 of 2 $100 gift vouchers to compensate you for the time taken to complete the survey. The findings of the present study might help us develop possible ways to identify individuals who might benefit from personalised treatments for chronic pain and co-occurring opioid use and potential misuse in the future. 

How can I volunteer or find out more?

The survey can be completed online using the following link:

Enter the survey

Please contact Dr Rachel Elphinston on 3346 4823, or email rachelel@uq.edu.au for more information.

Aims:

The aim of this study is to better understand driving challenges for individuals with chronic pain. 

Type of volunteers needed:

• Adults over the age of 18 years old who hold a valid Australian driver licence;

• Currently driving at least three times a week in Australia and owns a smartphone.

• Have persistent non-cancer pain for at least three months;

• Have not been diagnosed with a condition affecting the vestibular, central nervous system, or visual acuity.

• Able to read and write English

What is involved?

Participation involves three phases.

Phase 1: Complete an anonymous online survey about your demographics, driving experience, driving behaviour, and type of pain that would take approximately 30 minutes.

Phase 2: Complete an online driving hazard perception/prediction test face-to-face at RECOVER Injury Research Centre at the University of Queensland OR via videoconference software such as Zoom depending on your preference which could take approximately 30 minutes. During the test, you will see a number of video-based clips of real-world driving scenes. When you watch the video clip you need to imagine you are the driver and predict the traffic conflict.

Phase 3: Log your daily pain & driving, medication intake i.e. the purpose of your trip, self-reported near-crash events (avoid a crash at the last moment). Each logbook entry could take approximately 10 minutes to complete. This Phase requires you to install a free mobile app on your smartphone (compatible with iOS and Android), which will send you a notification on your smartphone to fill in the scheduled logbook entry. Please note the app does NOT record any information about your location or driving.

What’s in it for me?

You will receive a $100 e-gift voucher at completion of the three parts as a thank you for participating in the study. We cannot guarantee or promise that you will receive any additional benefits from this research; however, possible benefits may include improving the management of chronic pain and driving, and providing recommendations and interventions to ensure the safety of drivers with chronic pain as well as potential benefits in terms of public education for drivers in Australia.

How can I volunteer or find out more?

Please contact Dr Atiyeh Vaezipour on (07) 3346 4824, or email: a.vaezipour@uq.edu.au.

Aims:

You are invited to take part in this research project testing the impact of two sit-stand recommendations on low back pain (LBP). You can participate in this study if you:

• have low back pain,
• are a predominantly desk-based worker at the University of Queensland who uses a sit-stand desk or workstation,
• work at least 0.6 FTE,
• are not pregnant,
• do not have a medical condition that limits your ability to stand,
• do not have allergies to adhesive tape such as Hypafix and Opsite

What is involved:

Should you agree to participate in this study, you will be asked to:

• Use your sit-stand desk or workstation as prescribed by the research team for 3 months.
• Provide information on your low back pain each day for 1 week before starting the study, during the study for 1 week (at week 2) and after the end of the study for 1 week (at 3 months) via an app or self-report diary.
• Wear an activity monitor (24 × 43 × 5 mm; 10 g) on the front of the right thigh for 7 days (24 hours per day) before the intervention, during (2 weeks) and after the intervention (3 months). The small lightweight monitor is attached using a hypoallergenic adhesive waterproof patch. The monitor will be used to collect data on your sitting, standing and stepping time. It will not collect any data on your location. You will be asked to report your wake and sleep times, work times, and monitor removals via an app or self-report diary. A research assistant will visit you in your office to show you how to use the monitor, and provide you with written instructions for its use.
• Provide information about yourself (e.g. age, education, job category), your LBP, pain in any other body parts (e.g. shoulder, neck), and your work environment before starting the study and after end of the study (at 3 months) in an online survey. The online survey will take approximately 25-30 minutes to complete.
• Provide information on whether you thought the intervention was acceptable and satisfactory at 3 months only.

Some participants will also be asked to:

• Participate in a telephone interview to talk more about the study, an example of the type of questions that may be asked is “were there any supporting factors that assisted you in following the recommendation?”

What's in it for me?

We cannot guarantee or promise that you will receive any benefits from this research; however, possible benefits may include improvements in your low back pain, and a better understanding of how to set up and optimally use your sit-stand work desk. Participants will also receive a $40 gift card upon completion.

How can I volunteer or find out more?

People interested in participating or learning more about the study can contact Charlotte Brakenridge on (07) 3346 4816 or email c.brakenridge@uq.edu.au.

Medicine use following a neck or back injury

Have you recently experienced neck or back pain following a road traffic crash or other injury?

We need your input for a research study about people’s experiences of using medicines after injury. Participate by telephone from home!

Aim: 

To explore people’s experiences of medicine use for a neck or lower back injury incurred following an injury.

Type of volunteers needed:

• Over 18 years old
• Experienced neck or back pain as a result of an injury within the past 12 months
• Visited a GP OR attended an Emergency Department, but not admitted
• Used a prescription or over-the-counter medicine for this neck or back injury, and
• Fluent in English

Individuals are not eligible to participate if another, more serious, injury such as a broken bone was experienced; or if you have had neck or back pain for longer than twelve months.

What is involved?

A phone interview for up to 40 minutes, at a time convenient to you. Everything you say will be completely confidential and anonymous. Read the participant information sheet (PDF, 98.1 KB)

What’s in it for me?

Participants who complete the interview will receive a $20 gift voucher to thank them for their contribution.

We cannot guarantee or promise that you will receive any additional benefits from this research; however your time, experience, and feedback will likely benefit others who experience neck or back pain from an injury. Gaining a more in-depth understanding of people’s experiences will help guide development of the better treatment options to improve recovery.

How can I volunteer or find out more?

Read the study brochure (PDF, 135.9 KB).

People interested in participating or learning more about the study can contact Ms Sarah Robins, Research Assistant, on email whiplashresearch@uq.edu.au or call 07 3346 4812 or Dr Jane Nikles on email uqjnikle@uq.edu.au or 0408 599 033

Focus: The focus of the Improving health outcomes after musculoskeletal injury research team at RECOVER is to develop effective diagnosis, assessment and treatment for people with musculoskeletal injury following a motor vehicle crash. Our research includes many different aspects of recovery.

Type of volunteers needed:

We are often looking for volunteers for different studies.

• >18 years old
• Experiencing musculoskeletal pain, for example neck or back pain.

What is involved?

Each study has slightly different requirements with some requiring the completion of online questionnaires, others involve telephone or face-to-face interviews, whilst some include participation in activities or treatment.

What’s in it for me?

While you may not personally benefit from participating in this research, your time, experience, and feedback will likely benefit others who experience neck or back pain from a motor vehicle crash. Gaining a more in-depth understanding of people’s experiences will help guide development of the best treatment options to improve recovery.

How can I volunteer or find out more?

If you would like to register your interest to be contacted about a study that may suit your particular whiplash history, please contact Ms Sarah Robins, Research Assistant, on email whiplashresearch@uq.edu.au or call 07 3346 4812

Aim:

To help people recover from musculoskeletal conditions including neck pain, whiplash, low back pain, and knee osteoarthritis by assessing an innovative approach that guides health professionals in managing injured people based on their prognosis.

Types of volunteers required:

• Have sought health care within the last 4 weeks
• Neck pain or whiplash (18-65 years old)
• Non-specific low back pain (18-65 years old)
• Knee osteoarthritis (>45 years old) and have not undergone or scheduled for joint replacement surgery
• No confirmed fractures or dislocations at the time of the injury

What is involved?

The study runs for twelve months and involves completing online baseline questionnaires and then again at 3, 6 and 12 months after initial assessment.

What is in it for me?

As it is a randomised trial, participants will be allocated to one of 2 treatment groups. One group will be treated by their usual doctor or other health professional and the other group will be given treatment based on their response to the questionnaires, with care provided by their primary provider and/or a specialist provider. Participants will receive two $25 vouchers, one after completing the 3 month and the other after completing the 12 month questionnaires.

How can I volunteer or find out more?

If you are interested in participating please complete the screening questionnaire or contact Sarah Robins on 3346 4812 or 0436 391 158, or email s.robins1@uq.edu.au

Aim:

We are seeking participants for a study investigating if magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can help to identify injuries in patients with neck pain following a car crash or similar trauma.

Types of volunteers required:

Two groups of participants (18-85 years of age) are required:

• People who had neck pain following a car accident or similar injury, which was successfully treated using a radiofrequency neurotomy procedure
• People without long term neck pain to be a pain-free control group

What is involved?

Participation involves attending The University of Queensland for an MRI scan and completing questionnaires about neck pain.

How can I volunteer or find out more?

For information about this study, please contact Dr Scott Farrell on (07) 3346 4791 or scott.farrell@uq.edu.au

Aim:

We are recruiting for a study investigating the relationship between endogenous analgesia (our bodies’ in-built pain relief mechanisms) and psychological symptoms (such as stress, anxiety, depression) in people with neck pain.

Types of volunteers required:

We are looking for people with neck pain lasting more than 3 months (aged 18-70 years).

What is involved?

Participation takes ~60 minutes and involves:

• Assessments of endogenous analgesia (your body’s in-built pain relief system)
• Completing some questionnaires on neck pain and how it affects your life

How can I volunteer or find out more?

To find out more information, please contact Miss Megan Kirkby (m.kirkby@uq.net.au) or Dr Scott Farrell (scott.farrell@uq.edu.au) on (07) 3346 4791.

Aim:

We are recruiting for a study investigating heart rate variability in people with chronic whiplash neck pain.

Types of volunteers required:

Two groups of participants required:

• People who have had neck pain due to a whiplash injury for more than 3 months (aged 18-65 years old)
• People without long term neck pain to be a pain-free control group

What is involved?

You will be asked to attend one 45-min data collection session at The University of Queensland, Herston campus. This includes:

• Completion of questionnaires on pain and how it affects your life
• Testing of your pressure pain threshold
• Resting state heart rate variability measurement (10 minutes)
• 24 hour heart rate variability monitoring while continuing your normal daily activities

How can I volunteer or find out more?

For more information, please contact Dr Scott Farrell on (07) 3346 4791 or scott.farrell@uq.edu.au