posted on 2025-05-09, 17:50authored byDaniel W. O'Brien, Wesley Pigg, Richard Ellis, Jennifer Baldwin, Jonathan G. Quicke, Nicola Evans, Krysia Dziedzic
Osteoarthritis (OA) is a prevalent and costly condition. Evidence-based clinical guidelines recommend three core treatments for OA: education, exercise, and weight loss (as appropriate). However, the translation of evidence into practice is limited. Clinical guidelines do not provide information on how to implement recommendations in local care settings. In New Zealand, management of people with OA in primary care is inconsistent and fragmented. Clinicians and researchers have made a call for a New Zealand OA model of care to close this evidence-practice gap and optimise primary care OA management nationwide. A model of care is a condition-specific implementation strategy that outlines what care should be funded and delivered, who should provide it, and where and how care should be addressed. Various models of care for OA have been implemented with promising results in Australia, the United Kingdom (UK) and Europe. One programme that is translating guidelines into practice is the Model OsteoArthritis Consultation (MOAC). Empirical evaluations of the MOAC in the UK and Europe have demonstrated greater delivery of core treatments, better service quality, and improved patient outcomes. This article makes a case for piloting the MOAC in New Zealand as an implementation strategy to optimise primary care management of OA.
History
Journal title
New Zealand Journal of Physiotherapy
Volume
49
Issue
1
Pagination
24-30
Publisher
Physiotherapy New Zealand
Language
en, English
College/Research Centre
College of Health, Medicine and Wellbeing
School
School of Health Sciences
Rights statement
New Zealand Journal of Physiotherapy. All rights reserved. Permission is given to copy, store and redistribute the material in this publication for non-commercial purposes, in any medium or format as long as appropriate credit is given to the source of the material. No derivatives from the original articles are permissible.