Trial of Social Work Services in Fracture Clinic Setting

Every year, many Canadians sustain a fracture that requires surgical treatment and results in a long recovery period. During this recovery period, patients may experience new or worsening mental health issues including depression, anxiety, or post-traumatic stress disorder. Additionally, patients may experience new or worsening social and financial problems, such as food and housing insecurity, due to being unable to work or take care of other daily responsibilities. Current care for fracture patients is focused on treating their physical injuries and overlooks these other challenges. To address this gap in care, the investigators propose having a social worker available in the fracture clinic to provide patients with support beyond the care of their physical injury. The investigators propose a trial of 2,000 patients to determine if social worker support improves recovery for patients after a serious fracture by reducing the number of times they return to the emergency room or urgent care centre. This trial will also determine if social work support improves patients' mental health, financial security, ability to work, and level of satisfaction with the care they receive, and whether it reduces the amount of opioid medication they use and number of missed visits during their recovery. Patients will be randomly assigned to receive either support from a social worker or usual care. For patients assigned to receive social worker support, the social worker will assess their ind…

This description comes directly from the study's public registry record.

Paula McKay, BSc  ·  1-289-237-0791  ·  mckayp@mcmaster.ca

Natalie Fleming, MSW  ·  flemin3@mcmaster.ca

Always discuss trial participation with your own doctor first.

Get one email when the public record changes — results posted, or the study's status changes. Nothing else, ever.

We email about this public record only. Unsubscribe anytime with one click. Never medical advice.