We are pleased to see the publication in BMJ Open of the protocol for a programme of research aiming to reduce the delay to diagnosis for people with degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM), led by Cambridge University. The Royal College of Chiropractors is a contributor to this collaborative work through Director of Research, Gay Swait’s role on the global, multi-professional steering group for the project. Steering group members are coauthors of the publication.
Attendees at our recent AGM conference will have heard the keynote speaker, Ben Davies, who is an academic neurosurgeon at Cambridge, talk about the negative impact of diagnostic delays on outcomes for people with DCM, describing it as a slow motion spinal cord injury. Opportunities for early diagnosis are missed by many types of clinicians, in various settings. The research aims to identify which types of clinicians should be prioritised to make the biggest difference for DCM patients, and then to develop a clinician education intervention and strategy to achieve that. The recent publication outlines the method for the whole programme of work. We anticipate further publication of the findings from the first stages of the research soon.
The research protocol is published here:
Accelerating diagnosis of degenerative cervical myelopathy through improved education: a mixed- methods study protocol from Myelopathy. org RECODE-DCM to define stakeholders, knowledge requirements and an optimal intervention strategy
https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:2036ddab-e8de-4acb-b62c-dc98d7545e47/files/r47429c69m