ACTA Trial of the Year runner up
The PEAK clinical trial has been awarded runner up of the 2025 Australian Clinical Trials Alliance (ACTA) trial of the year award.
The PEAK trial (Telerehabilitation consultations with a physiotherapist for chronic knee pain versus in-person consultations in Australia: the PEAK non-inferiority randomised controlled trial) was designed and developed by Prof Rana Hinman (lead), Penelope Campbell, Alex Kimp, and Prof Kim Bennell from the Centre for Health, Exercise and Sports Medicine, within the Department of Physiotherapy. Other collaborators involved in the PEAK trial were Prof Trevor Russell (UQ), Prof Nadine Foster (UQ and Metro North Health), A/Prof Jessica Kasza (Monash Uni) and Prof Tony Harris (Monash Uni).
The primary aim of this study was to determine whether video consultations with a physiotherapist lead to non-inferior outcomes (knee pain on walking and/or physical function) at three months compared to face-to-face consultations for people living with knee osteoarthritis (OA). Participants were asked to attend five one-to-one consultations, via video-conferencing (using the Zoom platform) or during face-to-face' in-person consultations.
Both groups reported improved outcomes at 3 and 9 months, demonstrating that telerehabilitation is non-inferior to in-person care for both knee pain and physical function. At 3 months the number of participants reporting adverse events were similar for in-person care and videoconferencing, and none were serious.
Video conferencing was superior for change in:
-physical activity (at 9 months)
-therapeutic alliance (participant rating)
-convenience and attendance
-satisfaction (at 9 months)
-strength exercise adherence (at 3 months)
-distance travelled for consultations
Congratulations to the team on being awarded runner-up in these prestigious awards, recognising their outstanding achievement!
Learn more about the PEAK trial:
Research paper
Research infographic
FutureLearn course (freely accessible): used to train physios in the trial in best practice knee osteoarthritis care delivered via telehealth
