Social worker support for adults recovering from surgical fractures
Official title: Social Worker Presence in Outpatient Fracture Clinics: A Batched Stepped-Wedge Cluster Randomized Trial
Run by McMaster University · NCT06973655 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This trial will test whether having a social worker in the fracture clinic helps adults who had surgery for arm or leg fractures avoid emergency visits and improve recovery.
Quick facts
| Study type | Interventional |
|---|---|
| Ages | 18 Years and up |
| Sex | All |
| Enrollment | 2000 (estimated) |
| Sponsor | McMaster University Academic / other |
| Locations | 2 sites (San Francisco, California and 1 other locations) |
| Status | Recruiting |
| Started | October 6, 2025 |
| Main results expected | June 2028 |
| Study ends | June 2028 |
| Registry record updated | November 3, 2026 |
| Trial ID | NCT06973655 on ClinicalTrials.gov |
Is this trial a fit for you?
✓Likely a good fit
Adults 18 or older with a surgically treated appendicular fracture within the past 12 weeks who can provide informed consent and attend participating clinic visits are the intended participants.
✕Probably not a fit
People who are incarcerated, have an expected survival under six months, cannot participate in the languages offered, have nonoperative fractures, or whose fracture occurred more than 12 weeks ago are unlikely to receive benefit from this intervention.
A plain-English reading of the study's rules. Only the study team can confirm whether you qualify.
What this trial studies
This interventional trial will enroll about 2,000 adults with surgically managed appendicular fractures to receive embedded social work support in the fracture clinic. The intervention offers linkage to resources for mental health, housing, finances, addiction, and other social needs alongside routine orthopaedic care. Outcomes include return visits to emergency or urgent care and measures of recovery and social stability over the follow-up period. The trial is being run at multiple sites in Canada and the United States with standardized inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, patients may have fewer emergency or urgent care visits, better mental health and social support, and a smoother functional recovery.
How similar studies have gone: Related programs that place social workers or case managers in clinical settings have shown reductions in emergency visits and improvements in social outcomes, but robust randomized evidence specifically in orthopaedic fracture clinics is limited.
Who can join: the full rules
Show full inclusion / exclusion criteria
The inclusion criteria are: 1. Aged 18 or older. 2. Has fracture of the appendicular skeleton 3. Fracture occurred within the past 12 weeks. 4. Willing to comply with the protocol. Exclusion Criteria: 1. Incarceration. 2. Expected injury survival of less than 6 months. 3. Terminal illness with expected survival of less than 6 months. 4. Currently enrolled in a trial that does not permit co-enrollment. 5. Unable to engage in protocol in the languages available in the local cluster. 6. Prior enrollment in the trial. 7. Declined to provide informed consent. 8. Other reason to exclude the patient, as approved by the Methods Centre.
Where it's running
-
Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Centre
San Francisco, California, United States Recruiting -
Hamilton Health Sciences - Hamilton General Hospital
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada Recruiting
Study contacts
- Study coordinator: Paula McKay, BSc
- Email: mckayp@mcmaster.ca
- Phone: 1-289-237-0791
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How to take part
- Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
- Check the official listing on ClinicalTrials.gov for the latest contact details and recruitment status.
- Contact the study coordinator or principal investigator to ask for pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.