Leader: Kåre Rønn Richardsen

Main objectives:

• to understand mechanisms underlying musculoskeletal disorders
• to develop and improve prognostic models relevant for musculoskeletal health
• to validate prognostic models in samples including participants from other  countries.
• to compare the performance of prognostic models developed by traditional statistical methods and  machine learning approaches

Overarching research questions:

1. what are the underlying mechanisms of persistent musculoskeletal disorders?
2. why do patients respond differently to clinical treatments?
3. what are the characteristics (sociodemographic, clinical, psychological, environmental)
   1. individuals who develop persistent musculoskeletal disorders?
   2. individuals with good/poor prognosis?
   3. Individuals with good response to prevention strategies and treatments?
4. what are valid prognostic factors for different musculoskeletal health outcomes

Data and methods We will use existing data from data sources in Norway and other Scandinavian countries, i.e. large population-based cohorts, health surveys, national registries and clinical studies.

Projects:

AID-Spine

Co-occurrent project

Bridge builder project