Effect of diagnostic imaging information on patient understanding, beliefs and treatment intentions in Femoroacetabular Impingement (FAI) syndrome: An online randomised trial

INTERVENTION: All participants will be asked to read a brief, hypothetical scenario describing a person experiencing ongoing moderate hip pain that limits usual activities. Participants will then be randomly assigned to one of two groups: 1. Control group: Participants will receive standard diagnostic imaging X‐ray and MRI reports describing structural findings consistent with morphology associated with FAI syndrome. 2. Intervention group: Participants will receive the same standard imaging reports, plus an additional imaging infographic designed to explain the imaging findings in lay language. This infographic provides context about what the structural changes mean, emphasising that these findings are common, not necessarily the sole cause of symptoms, and that physiotherapy is recommended as first‐line treatment. The intervention materials were developed based on current clinical guidelines for FAI syndrome, and consumer feedback (physiotherapists and people with lived experience of FAI syndrome) on information preferences, and the infographic was adapted based on feedback from consumers. This intervention will be embedded within the single secure online Research Data Capture (REDCap) link. The hypothetical scenario and assigned materials will take approximately 10‐20 minutes to review. Participants will be asked to check a bo Xconfirming they have reviewed required materials before progressing to the outcome survey. As this is an anonymous online survey, adherence to the intervention (i.e., review of materials in full) cannot be monitored or verified. However, the decision was made to provide no monetary incentive for participation to mitigate the risk of non‐engaged or repeat submissions. The nine‐item outcome survey will take no more than 20 minutes t CONDITION: Femoroacetabular impingement syndrome;Health literacy; ; Femoroacetabular impingement syndrome ; Health literacy Musculoskeletal ‐ Other muscular and skeletal disorders PRIMARY OUTCOME: Treatment beliefs [Q4 ‐ How beneficial do you think physiotherapy and exercise would be for your hypothetical hip pain? (0 not beneficial at all, 10 extremely beneficial); Q6 ‐Based on the information you have so far, do you think that surgery would be necessary for your hypothetical hip pain at this stage? (0 not likely at all, 10 extremely likely)?; Q7 ‐ How optimistic are you about your hypothetical hip pain improving with physiotherapy treatment? (0 not at all, 10 extremely optimistic) ; ; ; ; Immediately post‐review of hypothetical scenario and allocated materials ] Treatment intentions [Q3 ‐ How likely would you be to engage with 3 months of physiotherapy for the management of your hypothetical hip pain? (0 not likely at all, 10 extremely likely); Q5 ‐ On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely would you be to seek a surgical opinion after receiving this information about your hypothetical hip pain? (0 being not likely at all, 10 being extremely likely) Immediately post‐review of hypothetical scenario and allocated materials ] Understanding of imaging reports [Q1 ‐ How well do you feel you understand the imaging findings that have been presented to you? (0 not at all, 10 completely understand) Immediately post‐review of hypothetical scenario and allocated materials ] INCLUSION CRITERIA: i) Adults aged 18‐50 years with or without hip pain ii) Located in Australia at time of survey completion iii) understand written English SECONDARY OUTCOME: Concern about symptom progression [Q9‐ How concerned are you that your hypothetical hip pain will get worse or cause serious ; problems? (0 not at all, 10 extremely concerned) Immediately post‐review of hypothetical scenario and allocated materials ] Confidence managing hip pain conservatively [Q8 ‐ How confident are you that you would be able to manage your hypothetical hip pain effectively without surgery? (0 not confident at all, 10 extremely confident) Immediately post‐review of hypothetical scenario and allocated materials ] Information seeking intentions ; ; [Q2 ‐ After reviewing this information, would you want to look up any information about your ; hypothetical condition on your own? (Y/N) ; If so what questions might you search? ; Where would you most likely search for this? google; online medical websites; social media/forums; chatgpt/other AI tools; healthcare provider; friends/family; other ; Immediately post‐review of hypothetical scenario and allocated materials ]