Overview
Background
Nadine is a physiotherapist, NHMRC Leadership Fellow (leadership level 2) focused on musculoskeletal pain and orthopaedic research, particularly clinical trials, and Academic Director of the University of Queensland's Clinical Trials Centre. Nadine is also the program lead for the Health Research Accelerator (HERA 2) program focused on innovation in clinical trials (ULTRA - UQ's Clinical Trial Capability) and a theme lead for clinical trials in the Centre of Innovation in Pain and Health Research (CIPHeR) at UQ. She is passionate about supporting multidisciplinary groups to work together, with critical mass, to design, conduct, analyse and translate the results of high quality clinical trials, in ways that improve patient and service outcomes.
Nadine is a lifetime Fellow of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy in the UK, and has held previous National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Senior Investigator awards and is the only physiotherapist to have held an NIHR Research Professorship in the UK. Having moved to Australia in January 2021, she was the inaugural Director of the STARS Research and Education Alliance between the University of Queensland and Metro North Health in Queensland (STARS is the Surgical, Treatment and Rehabilitation Service, the newest public hospital in Brisbane). Nadine is part of the STARS Alliance multidisciplinary team including conjoint appointments between the University and hospital, across the disciplines of physiotherapy, nursing, occupational therapy, psychology, consumer involvement in research, interdisciplinary collaborative practice in education and practice, and research management.
Nadine's research focuses on musculoskeletal pain, including low back pain, osteoarthritis and shoulder problems, and she has a particular interest in developing, testing and implementing treatments and health services. She has led or collaborated on more than 31 randomised trials, attracting over $145 million in research funding from, for example, the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), Versus Arthritis, and the Medical Research Council in the UK, PCORI in the USA and the NHMRC and MRFF in Australia. Current examples include international collaborative RCTs funded through the NIHR-NHMRC collaborative trial scheme focused on comparative effectiveness of surgery and conservative care for persistent, severe low back pain and comparative effectiveness of different approaches to shoulder joint replacement for patients with shoulder osteoarthritis. She has supervised 15 PhD students to completion, and 19 Masters research project students (nearly all were healthcare professionals), with 5 PhDs currently in progress in the UK, Europe and Australia. Nadine has led or contributed to over 311 peer reviewed publications, including the Lancet Series on Low Back Pain in 2018.
Examples of recognition as a national and international leader in the field include:
2024 - Elected to the Board of Directors, Australian Clinical Trials Alliance (ACTA)
2024-2029 - NHMRC Investigator Grant, Leadership level 2, supporting a program of research focused on new musculoskeletal RCTs and sharing existing RCT data to answer further research questions
2023 - Stanley Paris Visiting Fellowship award, University of Otago, New Zealand, supporting visiting fellowship in March 2024
2022 - Chief Executive's Award for Research, Metro North Health and Hospital Service Research Excellence Award
2020 - Senior Investigator award from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) in the UK, awarded to the top 200 clinical researchers in the country
2019 - PEDro recognition for the UK FASHIoN trial - chosen by a panel of international trialists as one of the five most important physiotherapy trials published in 2014-2019.
2019 - Invited member of the International Research Strategy Advisory Committee for the Health Research Board’s (Ireland) new five year research strategy development
2018 - Miegunyah Distinguished Visiting Fellowship 2019, University of Melbourne, Australia. February-March 2019
Availability
- Professor Nadine Foster is:
- Available for supervision
- Media expert
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Bachelor (Honours), University of Ulster
- Doctor of Philosophy, University of Ulster
Research interests
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Musculoskeletal pain including low back pain pain, osteoarthritis, shoulder pain
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Rehabilitation
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Health services research
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Interprofessional collaborative practice in health services
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Clinical trials
Research impacts
How to get the right treatment to the right musculoskeletal (MSK) patient at the right time is a key challenge. Prof Foster's clinical research program is internationally renowned for establishing the effectiveness of interventions through randomised controlled trials (RCTs), and evidencing new models of care (eg. stratified and stepped care) that has widely influenced health policy and practice.
Her program of research has led to paradigm-changing discoveries, producing 311 peer reviewed full papers cited widely in >129 countries, >27 disciplines (eg. medicine, health professions, neuroscience, social sciences, engineering, decision sciences), and in 765 news outlets and underpinned 31 patents.
Four of Prof Foster's program interventions were recommended by Public Health England based on their return-on-investment (ROI) and included in a ROI tool used by >200 Clinical Commissioning Groups in England. Her research has developed internationally agreed and widely adopted core outcome sets and set the international bar for stratified care trials in musculoskeletal pain, leading to >12 trials globally including in other fields (eg. arthritis, whiplash).
Prof Foster's research has provided best evidence about treatments and challenged the 'one-size-fits-all' musculoskeletal healthcare approach, influencing 88 policy documents including NICE and the WHO, 35 guidelines in 8 countries, including the UK NICE Low Back Pain and Osteoarthritis Clinical Guidelines, and the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Healthcare Back Pain Standards. Her program transformed patient care pathways including the UK's National Back Pain & Sciatica Pathway. Many hospital medical centres (eg. Massachusetts General Hospital) and universities (eg. Harvard Medical School and Oxford University) cite her program of research, and collaborations with IT industry partners EMIS Health & SystmOne embedded her stratified care tools in clinical practice (eg. the STarTBack tool, with >42 language translations).
Works
Search Professor Nadine Foster’s works on UQ eSpace
2015
Journal Article
Patients' treatment beliefs in low back pain : development and validation of a questionnaire in primary care
Dima, Alexandra, Lewith, George T., Little, Paul, Moss-Morris, Rona, Foster, Nadine E., Hankins, Matthew, Surtees, George and Bishop, Felicity L. (2015). Patients' treatment beliefs in low back pain : development and validation of a questionnaire in primary care. Pain, 156 (8), 1489-1500. doi: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000000193
2015
Journal Article
A pilot cluster randomised controlled trial to investigate the addition of direct access to physiotherapy to usual GP-led primary care for adults with musculoskeletal pain: the STEMS pilot trial protocol (ISRCTN23378642)
Bishop, Annette, on behalf of the STEMS study team, Tooth, Stephanie, Protheroe, Joanne, Salisbury, Chris, Ogollah, Reuben O., Jowett, Sue, Hay, Elaine M. and Foster, Nadine E. (2015). A pilot cluster randomised controlled trial to investigate the addition of direct access to physiotherapy to usual GP-led primary care for adults with musculoskeletal pain: the STEMS pilot trial protocol (ISRCTN23378642). Pilot and Feasibility Studies, 1 (1) 26. doi: 10.1186/s40814-015-0020-4
2015
Journal Article
Erratum to: Core outcome domains for clinical trials in non-specific low back pain
Chiarotto, Alessandro, Deyo, Richard A., Terwee, Caroline B., Boers, Maarten, Buchbinder, Rachelle, Corbin, Terry P., Costa, Leonardo O. P., Foster, Nadine E., Grotle, Margreth, Koes, Bart W., Kovacs, Francisco M., Lin, Chung-Wei Christine, Maher, Chris G., Pearson, Adam M., Peul, Wilco C., Schoene, Mark L., Turk, Dennis C., van Tulder, Maurits W. and Ostelo, Raymond W. (2015). Erratum to: Core outcome domains for clinical trials in non-specific low back pain. European Spine Journal, 24 (9), 2097-2097. doi: 10.1007/s00586-015-3984-0
2015
Journal Article
OARSI Clinical Trials Recommendations: Design and conduct of implementation trials of interventions for osteoarthritis
Allen, K.D., Bierma-Zeinstra, S.M.A., Foster, N.E., Golightly, Y.M. and Hawker, G. (2015). OARSI Clinical Trials Recommendations: Design and conduct of implementation trials of interventions for osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis and Cartilage, 23 (5), 826-838. doi: 10.1016/j.joca.2015.02.772
2015
Conference Publication
The relationship between attitudes, beliefs and physical activity behaviour in older adults with knee pain
Quicke, J., Foster, N., Ogollah, R. and Holden, M. (2015). The relationship between attitudes, beliefs and physical activity behaviour in older adults with knee pain. World Confederation for Physical Therapy Congress 2015, Singapore, Singapore, 1-4 May 2015. London, United Kingdom: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/j.physio.2015.03.1146
2015
Journal Article
A longitudinal assessment of the responsiveness of the ICECAP-A in a randomised controlled trial of a knee pain intervention
Keeley, T., Al-Janabi, H., Nicholls, E., Foster, N. E., Jowett, S. and Coast, J. (2015). A longitudinal assessment of the responsiveness of the ICECAP-A in a randomised controlled trial of a knee pain intervention. Quality of Life Research, 24 (10), 2319-2331. doi: 10.1007/s11136-015-0980-0
2015
Journal Article
Core outcome domains for clinical trials in non-specific low back pain
Chiarotto, Alessandro, Deyo, Richard A., Terwee, Caroline B., Boers, Maarten, Buchbinder, Rachelle, Corbin, Terry P., Costa, Leonardo O. P., Foster, Nadine E., Grotle, Margreth, Koes, Bart W., Kovacs, Francisco M., Lin, Chung-Wei Christine, Maher, Chris G., Pearson, Adam M., Peul, Wilco C., Schoene, Mark L., Turk, Dennis C., van Tulder, Maurits W. and Ostelo, Raymond W. (2015). Core outcome domains for clinical trials in non-specific low back pain. European Spine Journal, 24 (6), 1127-1142. doi: 10.1007/s00586-015-3892-3
2015
Journal Article
Development and validation of the keele musculoskeletal patient reported outcome measure (MSK-PROM)
Hill, Jonathan C., Thomas, Elaine, Hill, Susan, Foster, Nadine E. and Van Der Windt, Danielle A. (2015). Development and validation of the keele musculoskeletal patient reported outcome measure (MSK-PROM). PLoS One, 10 (4) e0124557, 1-14. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0124557
2015
Journal Article
Similar clinical outcomes but more healthcare use in shoulder impingement patients following corticosteroid injection compared with physical therapy
Foster, Nadine E. (2015). Similar clinical outcomes but more healthcare use in shoulder impingement patients following corticosteroid injection compared with physical therapy. Evidence Based Medicine, 20 (2), 67-67. doi: 10.1136/ebmed-2015-110171
2015
Journal Article
Implementing Stratified Primary Care Management for Low Back Pain : Cost-Utility Analysis Alongside a Prospective, Population-Based, Sequential Comparison Study
Whitehurst, David G. T., Bryan, Stirling, Lewis, Martyn, Hay, Elaine M., Mullis, Ricky and Foster, Nadine E. (2015). Implementing Stratified Primary Care Management for Low Back Pain : Cost-Utility Analysis Alongside a Prospective, Population-Based, Sequential Comparison Study. Spine, 40 (6), 405-414. doi: 10.1097/brs.0000000000000770
2015
Journal Article
Exercise and physical activity in older adults with knee pain: a mixed methods study
Holden, Melanie A., Nicholls, Elaine E., Young, Julie, Hay, Elaine M. and Foster, Nadine E. (2015). Exercise and physical activity in older adults with knee pain: a mixed methods study. Rheumatology, 54 (3), 413-423. doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/keu333
2015
Journal Article
Should General Practitioners Issue a Sick Certificate to Employees Who Consult for Low Back Pain in Primary Care?
Lewis, M., Wynne-Jones, G., Barton, P., Whitehurst, D. G. T., Wathall, S., Foster, N. E., Hay, E. M. and van der Windt, D. (2015). Should General Practitioners Issue a Sick Certificate to Employees Who Consult for Low Back Pain in Primary Care?. Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation, 25 (3), 577-588. doi: 10.1007/s10926-014-9564-z
2015
Journal Article
Maximising response from GPs to questionnaire surveys: do length or incentives make a difference?
Cottrell, Elizabeth, Roddy, Edward, Rathod, Trishna, Thomas, Elaine, Porcheret, Mark and Foster, Nadine E. (2015). Maximising response from GPs to questionnaire surveys: do length or incentives make a difference?. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 15 (1) 3. doi: 10.1186/1471-2288-15-3
2014
Journal Article
A core outcome set for clinical trials on non-specific low back pain: Study protocol for the development of a core domain set
Chiarotto, Alessandro, Terwee, Caroline B., Deyo, Richard A., Boers, Maarten, Lin, Chung-Wei Christine, Buchbinder, Rachelle, Corbin, Terry P., Costa, Leonardo, Foster, Nadine E., Grotle, Margreth, Koes, Bart W., Kovacs, Francisco M., Maher, Chris G., Pearson, Adam M., Peul, Wilco C., Schoene, Mark L., Turk, Dennis C., van Tulder, Maurits W. and Ostelo, Raymond W. (2014). A core outcome set for clinical trials on non-specific low back pain: Study protocol for the development of a core domain set. Trials, 15 (1) 511. doi: 10.1186/1745-6215-15-511
2014
Journal Article
Exercise for lower limb osteoarthritis: systematic review incorporating trial sequential analysis and network meta-analysis:
Uthman, Olalekan A., van der Windt, Danielle A., Jordan, Joanne L., Dziedzic, Krysia S., Healey, Emma L., Peat, George M. and Foster, Nadine E. (2014). Exercise for lower limb osteoarthritis: systematic review incorporating trial sequential analysis and network meta-analysis:. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 48 (21), 1579-1579. doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2014-5555rep
2014
Journal Article
Effectiveness of PhysioDirect telephone assessment and advice services for patients with musculoskeletal problems:
Salisbury, Chris, Montgomery, Alan A., Hollinghurst, Sandra, Hopper, Cherida, Bishop, Annette, Franchini, Angelo, Kaur, Surinder, Coast, Joanna, Hall, Jeanette, Grove, Sean and Foster, Nadine E. (2014). Effectiveness of PhysioDirect telephone assessment and advice services for patients with musculoskeletal problems:. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 48 (18), 1391-1391. doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2014-f43rep
2014
Journal Article
A multicentre, pragmatic, parallel group, randomised controlled trial to compare the clinical and cost-effectiveness of three physiotherapy-led exercise interventions for knee osteoarthritis in older adults: the BEEP trial protocol (ISRCTN: 93634563)
Foster, Nadine E., Healey, Emma L., Holden, Melanie A., Nicholls, Elaine, Whitehurst, David G.T., Jowett, Susan, Jinks, Clare, Roddy, Edward and Hay, Elaine M. (2014). A multicentre, pragmatic, parallel group, randomised controlled trial to compare the clinical and cost-effectiveness of three physiotherapy-led exercise interventions for knee osteoarthritis in older adults: the BEEP trial protocol (ISRCTN: 93634563). BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, 15 (1) 254. doi: 10.1186/1471-2474-15-254
2014
Journal Article
Rationale, design and methods of the Study of Work and Pain (SWAP): a cluster randomised controlled trial testing the addition of a vocational advice service to best current primary care for patients with musculoskeletal pain (ISRCTN 52269669)
Bishop, Annette, Wynne-Jones, Gwenllian, Lawton, Sarah A., van der Windt, Danielle, Main, Chris, Sowden, Gail, Burton, A. Kim, Lewis, Martyn, Jowett, Sue, Sanders, Tom, Hay, Elaine M., Foster, Nadine E. and and on behalf of the SWAP study team (2014). Rationale, design and methods of the Study of Work and Pain (SWAP): a cluster randomised controlled trial testing the addition of a vocational advice service to best current primary care for patients with musculoskeletal pain (ISRCTN 52269669). BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, 15 (1) 232. doi: 10.1186/1471-2474-15-232
2014
Journal Article
Pain location matters: the impact of leg pain on health care use, work disability and quality of life in patients with low back pain
Hider, Samantha L., Whitehurst, David G. T., Thomas, Elaine and Foster, Nadine E. (2014). Pain location matters: the impact of leg pain on health care use, work disability and quality of life in patients with low back pain. European Spine Journal, 24 (3), 444-451. doi: 10.1007/s00586-014-3355-2
2014
Conference Publication
Is long-term physical activity safe for older adults with knee pain?: a systematic review
Quicke, J. G., Foster, N. E., Thomas, M. J. and Holden, M. A. (2014). Is long-term physical activity safe for older adults with knee pain?: a systematic review. 2014 World Congress, Paris, France, 24-27 April 2014. London, United Kingdom: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/j.joca.2014.02.042
Funding
Current funding
Past funding
Supervision
Availability
- Professor Nadine Foster is:
- Available for supervision
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Available projects
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Exploring how the Action Falls Intervention reduces falls in stroke survivors
We are seeking a PhD candidate who is eligible for a UQ Graduate School Scholarship, to undertake a PhD in the field of falls rehabilitation following stroke. The project is part the Australian Falls In Stroke Study (FISS-Australia) Trial (https://shrs.uq.edu.au/research/fiss-australia-trial), funded by the National Health and Research Medical Council (NHMRC) and National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The FISS-Australia trial is a national, multi-centre, randomised controlled trial that will determine the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the Action Falls intervention in stroke survivors who are discharged from hospital to home.
The Action Falls Intervention is a systematic falls prevention intervention involving clinician-led assessment of falls risks, followed by personalised action planning. Action Falls has been shown in previous research to reduce falls by 43% in older people living in nursing home settings in the UK and is cost effective compared to other falls interventions, but its effectiveness for reducing falls in people with stroke living at home has not been tested.
The project is led by researchers at the University of Queensland in collaboration with researchers at the University of Nottingham, La Trobe University, University of Sydney, and the University of Canberra. The overarching aim of the trial is to determine if the Action Falls intervention reduces the rate of falls in stroke survivors and is more cost effective than the usual care. The trial will include a nested, process evaluation guided by a realist approach, designed to explore the mechanisms by which Action Falls reduces falls, seeking to explore for which stroke survivors, in what circumstances Action Falls is effective.
The successful PhD candidate will use qualitative (eg. interviews with health care professionals, people with stroke and their significant others) and quantitative methods (eg. analyse data about implementation of the Action Falls intervention, frequency of falls, health care usage) to explore the Action Falls Intervention. The findings of this evaluation will inform future delivery of Action Falls to stroke survivors.
The PhD student will be supervised by a team that may include Dr Emmah Doig, Prof Pip Logan, Prof Nadine Foster, A/Professor Jacki Liddle. The PhD candidate would be based at the Surgical Treatment and Rehabilitation Service (STARS) Education and Research Alliance.
Eligible candidates will be supported to apply for a UQ Graduate School Scholarship that provides a 3-year scholarship (with possible extension for 6 months if required) at a rate of $35,000 p.a. tax free.
Essential criteria: An undergraduate degree with first or second class honours in a health profession (eg. occupational therapy, physiotherapy, nursing); eligibility for admission as a PhD candidate at The University of Queensland; excellent communication skills (written and verbal) in English.
Desirable criteria: Experience in and interest in stroke and/or falls rehabilitation practice or research.
Supervision history
Current supervision
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Doctor Philosophy
Collaborative clinical practice in healthcare
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Rebecca Olson, Dr Lisa Anemaat
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Doctor Philosophy
Attitudes, beliefs and behaviours regarding the management of shoulder osteoarthritis
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Jonathan Quicke
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Doctor Philosophy
Understanding and optimising recruitment in the FORENSIC low back pain trial (FusiOn veRsus bEst coNServatIve Care)
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Jonathan Quicke
Media
Enquiries
Contact Professor Nadine Foster directly for media enquiries about:
- arthritis
- back pain
- clinical trials
- joint pain
- knee pain
- musculoskeletal disorders
- osteoarthritis
- pain
- physiotherapy
- rehabilitation
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