Arthritis NZ Summer Scholarships 2022-2023

Auckland University of Technology (AUT) researchers were awarded Summer Scholarships worth $6,000 each to supervise talented students over the 2022/2023 summer. Arthritis NZ’s annual Summer Scholarship programme supports student arthritis research under the supervision of an experienced research professional working in academia and/or health service provision. The three Summer Scholarships are:

1. Investigating the experience of podiatrists providing

2. The experience of people with gout on the impact of gout flare triggers: a qualitative interview study. Gout flares are at the centre of patients’ experience of Gout Arthritis. The study will explore how triggers affect gout patients via face-to-face and online interviews. The study will offer a better understanding of how patients change their behaviour to avoid things that trigger gout flares and how these modified behaviours impact them. Study results could be potentially used for advocacy around the role of urate-lowering therapy and trigger avoidance behaviours to help with the long-term management of Gout Arthritis.

3. The association between dynamic plantar pressure and sonographic evidence of metatarsophalangeal joint synovitis in people with RA . The metatarsophalangeal joints (MTPJs) in the forefoot are the most common location of synovitis in RA patients and the main cause of foot pain. Over 85% of New Zealanders with the condition experience footrelated problems. The study aims to determine the association between dynamic plantar pressure and sonographic evidence of MTPJ synovitis in people with RA. The study will be the first to assess the relationship between “power doppler detected synovitis” and plantar pressure in people with RA. may also inform the potential role of the use of ultrasound