Study Progress
The Last Few Months of Recruitment!
05 May 2024
Thank you so much to our participants & sites, because we have now recruited 126 willing volunteers with thumb base osteoarthritis. We only need another 24 people to reach our target.
Alongside recruitment, it is vital that we collect follow-up questionnaires for as many people as possible at 3 & 6-months after the start of treatment.
So, keep an eye out for questionnaires in the post or in your e-mail. Do remember to check your junk mail if you think you are due a questionnaire. Do call or email us if you have any questions.
We really appreciate your involvement in the TOPS Study.
100!
13 March 2024
Today we recruited our hundredth TOPS participant.
Many thanks to our participants and to our hard working TOPS teams.
Interviews and Follow-up Questionnaires
03 March
A special thank you to those of you whom I have got to know better through the interviews. We aim to keep interviewing over the next few months, hearing from about 20 people in total. It is so important to learn more about your experience of care.
A reminder also to fill in your 3-month & 6-month questionnaires, as these are essential for the TOPS Study success. Currently only about 60% of the follow-up questionnaires are being returned.
Interviews have begun!
05 February 2024
We have booked the first five interviews, and are extremely grateful to all those involved. It is so helpful to hear from participants what it is like to receive care, what they find helpful, and what they think needs to change.
The first few 6-month questionnaires are also due to be sent out this month. Few studies in this area have followed people for as long as 3-months. We hope to follow progress for at least 6-months to understand how symptoms change over a longer period.
We know that the questionnaires do take your time to fill in, so we really appreciate it. It The success of the study depends on you completing these questionnaires. Please play Ken’s video if you want to know more.
Happy New Year!
3 January 2024
We are excited to say we have reached halfway in our recruitment.
We’re on track!
Once again, thank you to our NHS sites, and our willing participants.
Now we are progressing to interviews. The first few invitations have been sent out. Interview makes it sound like something you do to get a job, but in research an interview is just a recorded conversation on a specific topic. The TOPS Study wants to explore questions like: What it was like for you to receive care? Did that care help you? Can we improve the care provided?
If you receive an invitation, we hope you will consider giving us an hour of your time to tell us about your experience.
Wishing you all a happy and peaceful 2024.
Follow Up Has Begun
4/12/2023
It’s 3 months since our first participants were recruited, and we now have our first few 3-month questionnaires returned to us - thank you to everyone who has, and who will be filling these out. We need your information to understand how people progress after receiving care, this will help us provide better information to patients, and improve care.
The December newsletter is attached with our latest recruitment update.
Today we recruited our 50th TOPS participant
21/11/2023
Our target is 150, and we anticipated needing 14 months to achieve this number, we are a third of the way there in 4 months, which is amazing. Thank you to all our willing participants and hard working sites. Do stick with us as we aim to understand how your symptoms change over a 6-month period.
Recruitment in Full Swing
16/11/2023
As of 31st October, 30 people have consented to take part in the TOPS Study - this is great progress. Thank you to all our participants.
The interview study will begin in December, once the first of the 3-month outcome questionnaires have been returned.
Our first newsletter is being sent out to all participants (you can read it here).
Recruitment Update
02/10/2023
All four NHS sites involved in this research have now recruited their first participant for the TOPS Study. We are grateful to each site for the efforts they have put in to get the TOPS Study started. In total 17 people have consented to take part in the study to date - thank you to all of you.
Recruitment Open
15 August 2023
The TOPS Study began recruitment on 8th August 2023.
Thanks and congratulations to the team and Pennine MSK in Oldham who have recruited our first participant.
We are really excited to start this journey as we seek together to improve the care for people with thumb base osteoarthritis.
Study Approval Received
July 2023
The TOPS study has ethical approval, and we are due to begin recruiting 7th August.