International Consensus for Minimum Common Data Elements for Tracking and Reporting Musculoskeletal Injuries in Military Settings: Results from a Delphi Consensus-ICMM World Congress 2024

Rhon d, Arden n, motte s, fallowfield j, fisher b, bullock g

Abstract accepted for oral presentation at the 2024 ICMM World Congress on Military Medicine.

Musculoskeletal injuries are a significant threat to military readiness; sustained by over half of individuals in many military units each year. These injuries threaten mission capabilities through reduced workforce. Mitigating injury risk requires accurate representation of the problem and adequate data to properly inform decisions. Additionally, the ability to aggregate data and make valid comparisons across settings, military branches, populations and nations is only possible when the same data elements exist. The purpose of this project was to reach international consensus on the minimum core data elements that should be collected and reported when conducting musculoskeletal injury surveillance in military settings.

Consensus was reached for two data principles and 33 minimal data elements. These elements include demographics, health behaviors, service branch, health history, exposure, and injury characteristics. This core checklist can be leveraged by clinicians, researchers and stakeholders working in military settings when comparing and harmonizing data across studies, military service branches, and countries. Ultimately, this will lead to better synthesis of evidence-based practice and ability to generate a greater number of useful prognostic models in the future.