[Physio Explained] What are nudges and can they improve low back pain care? with Sweekriti Sharma

In this episode with Sweekriti, we discuss her research on low back pain and using nudges to decrease low value care. We explore:

• The definition of a patient “nudge” and clinician “nudge"
• How to help people with LBP in the community before presenting to emergency department
• Further research in managing low back pain
• Reducing alerts in EMR

👉🏻 Learn more about Physio Network’s Research Reviews here -https://physio.network/reviews-sharma

Dr Sweekriti Sharma is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Institute for Musculoskeletal Health, a partnership between the University of Sydney and Sydney Local Health District. A public health researcher with expertise in clinical trials and public health approaches to common conditions such as low back pain, she examines how health systems can better support effective, equitable care. Her work aims to strengthen evidence‑based practice and improve population health outcomes.

 Reference to article discussed:

Altinger G, Sharma S, Maher CG et al. (2026) NUDG-ED Study Group. Behavioural nudges to reduce low-value care for low back pain in the emergency department (NUDG-ED): a 2 × 2 factorial, pragmatic cluster randomized trial. CMAJ, 198(13):E486-E499. 

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