A simplified and evidence-based algorithm for examination and treatment of patients with shoulder pain will be developed and implemented in general practice. The purpose is to improve quality of care and provide GPs with a simplified and efficient tool to handle patients with common shoulder- related pain. The study is a stepped-wedge, cluster-randomized trial with a hybrid design including a effectiveness, cost and implementation assessment of a guideline-based intervention in clinical practice (2). General practitioners in Norway will be recruited and the GP offices will be randomized to the time of crossover from current treatment as usual (TAU) to the implementation of the intervention. The intervention is a tailored strategy that includes workshops for general practitioners covering information and access to a decision support tool, an education program where the general practitioner learn an evidence-based approach to shoulder pain and access to patient information materials. Outcomes will be measured at patient and GP levels, using self-report questionnaires, focus group interviews and register based data.
Previous research suggests that general practitioners find handling patients with shoulder pain difficult and that the current care for shoulder pain is not in line with the best available evidence (1).This project aims to assess the effectiveness, costs and implementation of an evidence-based guideline for shoulder pain in general practice.