Table 4 Future research solutions of identified gaps in the proximal humerus fracture literature
From: A scoping review of the proximal humerus fracture literature
Gaps in the research literature | Future research solution | |
|---|---|---|
• There is a lack of accessible knowledge for patients that can be used to empower a shared treatment decision process and provide patients with more information regarding their rehabilitation and expected recovery. | ⇨ | • Create and appropriately evaluate patient decision aids to translate the current knowledge into tools that patients can use to participate in their treatment decisions and better understand their injury and expected outcome. |
• There is a great deal of literature on proximal humerus fractures, but a lack of systematic reviews addressing focused clinical questions. | ⇨ | • Focused systematic reviews to answer specific clinical questions. |
• There is a lack of studies focusing on: | ||
1. Non-operative management, especially given that the overwhelming majority of proximal humerus fractures are treated without surgery. | ⇨ | • Conduct a series of planning meetings between clinicians, methodologists, and other knowledge users in order to prioritize and design future research studies that will address these gaps in knowledge for the treatment of proximal humerus fractures. |
2. Prospective studies (both cohort studies and randomized controlled trials), as these study designs are key to informing patient decision making. | ||
3. Prognostic studies that aim to determine important patient and injury characteristics that affect proximal humerus fracture outcomes. |