A. Prof Gustavo Machado
KEY PUBLICATIONS​
BPhty (Hons I), PhD
NHMRC Principal Research Fellow, USYD Robinson Fellow
Associate Professor Gustavo Machado is an NHMRC Investigator (EL2) and Robinson Fellow at the Institute for Musculoskeletal Health, Sydney Local Health District and the School of Public Health, University of Sydney. He has published extensively on topics related to back pain, musculoskeketal pain, physiotherapy, emergency and pre-hospital care, and public health. The work he has led is published in top ranking general medical (eg BMJ) and specialist journals (eg Lancet Rheumatology). His papers have been cited over >5200 times (h-index=32), published with editorials, summarised in leading journals (eg NEJM), featured in major media (eg The New York Times), changed guideline recommendations (eg NICE), and awarded prizes and awards, including the 2019 NSW Health Award for Value Based Health Care, the 2022 ANZMUSC Trial of the Year Award, and the 2023 Research Australia Health Services Research Award. He sits on the Board of the Faculty of Medicine and Health, is a core member of the Emergency Care Institute Research Advisory Committee, member of the RPA Virtual Hospital Research Steering Committee, and former member of the Sydney Local Health District Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC). He is also a member of the Health Services Research Association for Australia and New Zealand and was a founding member of the Early-Mid Career Research Committees from the School of Public Health and the Faculty of Medicine and Health.
Key Research Projects
RESHAP-ED
This trial will investigate whether a primary-contact physiotherapy service when compared to usual care (primary-contact by physicians or nurse practitioners) reduces time spent in ED. 1370 patients with simple musculoskeletal conditions will be recruited from 5 EDs in New South Wales, Australia. The primary effectiveness outcome is the ED length of stay. Funded by MRFF ($2.8M)
ADAPT-ED
This trial aims to test the effectiveness of 4 non-opioid interventions against the most used opioid medicine (oxycodone) for managing back pain in Australian EDs. This is a multi-arm multi-stage, non-inferiority, randomised controlled trial at 5 EDs in NSW. Adult patients who present to the ED with moderate/severe back pain (pain score, 4–10) will be included. Primary outcome is pain intensity (0–10 scale) measured at ED triage and at 1 hour. Funded by MRFF ($3.2M)
SMART-ED
This trial aims to evaluate four implementation strategies (alone or in combination) to reduce opioid prescribing for back pain care in the ED. It will use a clustered, sequential multiple assignment randomised trial design across 44 EDs in NSW. Based on an interim analysis, non-responding sites with an absolute reduction of 10% or less in opioid prescribing from baseline will be re-randomised to receive additional and more intensive implementation strategies. The primary outcome is proportion of patients with back pain administered an opioid in ED. Funded by MRFF ($4.7M)