Making it Work - Scotland focus group recruitment now underway!

We are looking for people to take part in focus groups to share their experiences of work support for people with musculoskeletal conditions.

Making it Work™ is an online self-management programme developed in Canada which supports people working with inflammatory arthritis. We are now looking to develop this programme to cover a wider range of conditions and adapt it to fit the UK health and social care context, as well as changes to work brought about by modern working patterns (e.g. zero-hours contracts, ‘gig economy’ jobs, etc.) and the COVID-19 pandemic.

To help with this, we are now inviting people to register their interest in taking part in online focus groups in order to share their experiences and give their input on how best to shape and adapt the programme to meet these needs. We are looking to speak to a broad range of interested people in order to make sure that the views of people with musculoskeletal conditions, their employers, and other interested parties are taken on board.

Speaking about the importance of this research, Making it Work™ - Scotland Co-Investigator Dr Elaine Wainwright said:

“We want to listen to the voices of people with lived experience of different musculoskeletal conditions, as well as healthcare professionals, employers and other key stakeholders, so we can understand their views on this critical topic. By doing this well, incorporating a variety of viewpoints, we can help support people living with different inflammatory and non-inflammatory conditions to have sustainable working lives.”

Each focus group will last approximately up to two hours, and participants will be given a £20 shopping voucher to thank them for their time. Participants must be based in the UK and 18 years old and over.

You can find out more about Making it Work™ - Scotland here.