The WAIT-less trial is a prospectively registered randomized controlled trial aimed at reducing waiting times for people with musculoskeletal pain referred to public hospital outpatient physiotherapy clinics. Many Australians seeking care for musculoskeletal pain do not have private health insurance and join increasingly long waiting lists for clinic-based physiotherapy in public hospitals. Long waiting times of up to 12 months for these people likely delay recovery and lead some to develop persistent disabling symptoms that are costly and complex to manage. A potential solution to reduce treatment waiting times is a model of care that can identify patients with simple musculoskeletal problems that can be managed with less resources (e.g. brief telephone appointments, App-based home exercise programs), thereby freeing-up clinic-based resources for patients with more complex presentations. The WAIT-less trial involves testing a new physiotherapist-led triage and treatment service in public hospital outpatient physiotherapy clinics in NSW, Australia. The new service can identify patients with simple musculoskeletal problems that can be managed with less resources (e.g. brief telephone appointments, App-based home exercise programs), thereby freeing-up clinic-based resources for patients with more complex presentations. 368 participants (184 per arm) will be recruited from six public hospitals located in NSW Australia randomised 1:1 to the physiotherapist-led triage and treatment service or usual in-person physiotherapy. Physical function (Patient Specific Functional Scale) at 6 months post-randomisation and waiting time (time from randomisation to treatment) are co-primary outcomes. Secondary outcomes include other patient outcomes (e.g. pain), health resource use, adverse events, process measures (e.g. adherence) and costs. The findings of this novel trial will establish whether a new triage and treatment service in outpatient physiotherapy clinics can help overcome a key health service delivery challenge in the management of musculoskeletal pain in Australia. Link to trial registration: https://www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=387925&isReview=true

Many health professionals, researchers and patients use infographics and visual abstracts (hereafter referred to as ‘infographics) as a substitute for reading full-text articles and view infographics as tools to help them save time by not having to read the full text. This is a problem as many infographics summarising health and medical research do not present enough of the information that is needed to interpret research appropriately and guide wise healthcare decisions. The Reporting Infographics and Visual Abstracts of Comparative studies (RIVA-C) checklist and guide was developed using a two-stage modified Delphi process to facilitate the creation of clear and sufficiently detailed infographics summarising comparative studies of health and medical interventions. The primary audience for the RIVA-C checklist and guide is developers of infographics. The need for the RIVA-C checklist and guide was identified by a survey of how people use infographics. Possible checklist items were informed by a systematic review of how infographics report research and a two-round, modified Delphi survey of 92 infographic developers/designers, researchers, health professionals and other key stakeholders. The final checklist includes 10 items. Accompanying explanation and both text and graphical examples linked to the items were developed and pilot tested over a 6-month period. The RIVA-C checklist and guide provides comprehensive guidance on how to create clear, transparent and sufficiently detailed infographics which summarise comparative studies of health and medical interventions. Accurate infographics can ensure research findings are communicated appropriately and not misinterpreted. Read the RIVA-C checklist and guide here (open access)