Emma Karran

Dr Emma Karran

Senior Research Fellow

School of Allied Health and Human Performance

College of Health

Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD (as Co-Supervisor) - email supervisor to discuss availability.


Emma is a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at the University of South Australia. She completed her PhD under the supervision of Prof. Lorimer Moseley in 2018, her thesis investigating areas of uncertainty related to the clinical management of low back pain.  Emma’s current projects and interests relate to exploring the social determinants of pain outcomes, optimising the management of low back pain in primary care, implementation research and health communication. Emma’s mixed-methods research is both driven and informed by her extensive experience as a Physiotherapy Clinician and Educator.  

Year Citation
2026 Walker, E., Karran, E. L., Jones, M. D., Gibbs, M. T., & Sharma, S. (2026). Social determinants of health equity for people with pain: from understanding to action. PAIN REPORTS, 11(1), 12 pages.
DOI Scopus1 WoS1 Europe PMC1
2026 Karran, E. L., Cashin, A. G., Chiarotto, A., Sharma, S., Barker, T., Boyd, M. A., . . . Moseley, G. L. (2026). Standardising socio-demographic data collection in pain research: Introducing consensus recommendations for a minimum dataset. Journal of Pain, 39, 105645-1-105645-5.
DOI
2026 Karran, E. L., Cashin, A. G., Chiarotto, A., Sharma, S., Barker, T., Boyd, M. A., . . . Moseley, G. L. (2026). Standardising the Collection of Socio-Demographic Data in Pain Research. European Journal of Pain, 30(1), e70194-1-e70194-3.
DOI
2026 Karran, E. L., Cashin, A. G., Chiarotto, A., Sharma, S., Barker, T., Boyd, M. A., . . . Moseley, G. L. (2026). 'Identifying Social Factors that Stratify Health Opportunities and Outcomes (ISSHOOs) in Pain Research': Explanation and elaboration to support the standardized reporting of equity-relevant data. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 192, 112136-1-112136-15.
DOI
2026 Henry, M. L., O'Connell, N. E., Riley, R. D., Moons, K. G. M., Shea, B. J., Hooft, L., . . . Moseley, G. L. (2026). Agreement testing of AMSTAR-PF, a tool for quality appraisal of systematic reviews of prognostic factor studies. BMJ Open, 16(1), e109388-1-e109388-12.
DOI
2026 Appiah, R. P., Mescouto, K., Karran, E. L., Aparnadas, A., Phuentsho, K., Cardozo, B., & Moseley, G. L. (2026). Beyond Symptom Reduction: A Qualitative Study of Refugees' Experiences of a Trauma-Informed Community-Based Pain Management Program.. Eur J Pain, 30(4), e70251.
DOI Scopus1 WoS1 Europe PMC1
2026 Grant, A. R., Alva, T., Baralaman, M., Barlow, S., Boerema, M., Byrnes, C., . . . Moseley, G. L. (2026). Local Pain Collectives: A Novel Strategy for Improving Pain Knowledge, Pain Care and Community Connectedness in Rural Settings. Australian Journal of Rural Health, 34(2), e70189-1-e70189-7.
DOI
2025 Karran, E. L., Cashin, A. G., Barker, T., Boyd, M. A., Chiarotto, A., Mohabir, V., . . . Moseley, G. L. (2025). It is time to take a broader equity lens to highlight health inequalities in people with pain. British Journal of Anaesthesia, 134(1), 235-237.
DOI Scopus9 WoS10 Europe PMC5
2025 Grant, A. R., Westhorp, G., Murray, C. M., De La Perrelle, L., Dettwiller, P., Davey, A., . . . Moseley, G. L. (2025). Increasing access to pain care services to improve rural pain management: a realist review investigating factors affecting uptake, implementation, and sustainability. Pain, 166(6), 1250-1267.
DOI Scopus7 WoS7 Europe PMC1
2025 Mardon, A. K., Leake, H. B., Wilson, M. V., Karran, E. L., Parker, R., Malani, R., . . . Chalmers, K. J. (2025). Pain science education concepts for pelvic pain: an e-Delphi of expert clinicians. Frontiers In Pain Research, 6(1498996), 1-11.
DOI Scopus1
2025 Grant, A. R., Westhorp, G., Mardon, A., White, M., Hibbert, P. D., Karran, E. L., . . . Moseley, G. L. (2025). How is chronic pain managed in rural Australia? A qualitative study exploring rural healthcare professional and consumer experiences. Australian Journal Of Rural Health, 33(1, article no. e70000), 1-12.
DOI Scopus7 WoS6 Europe PMC4
2025 Karran, E. L., Cashin, A. G., Barker, T., Boyd, M. A., Chiarotto, A., Maxwell, L. J., . . . Moseley, G. L. (2025). Developing consensus on the most important equity-relevant items to include in pain research: a modified e-Delphi study. Pain, 166(10), e378-e387.
DOI Scopus7 WoS8 Europe PMC6
2025 Karran, E. L., Cashin, A. G., Chiarotto, A., Sharma, S., Barker, T., Boyd, M. A., . . . Moseley, G. L. (2025). Identifying Social factors that Stratify Health Opportunities and Outcomes (ISSHOOs) in pain research: consensus recommendations for the collection and reporting of equity-relevant data. EClinicalMedicine, 90(103586), 103586-1-103586-20.
DOI Scopus9 WoS9 Europe PMC7
2025 Grant, A. R., Westhorp, G., Mardon, A., Karran, E. L., Hibbert, P. D., Roeger, C., & Moseley, G. L. (2025). Realist needs assessment investigating the factors affecting implementation of guideline-based care for chronic pain in rural Australia: program theory generation. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 24, 1-12.
DOI Scopus3 WoS3
2025 Grant, A. R., Mardon, A., Westhorp, G., Karran, E. L., Hibbert, P. D., Alva, T., . . . Moseley, G. L. (2025). Factors affecting the provision of guideline-recommended pain care in rural Australia: a consolidated program theory from a realist needs assessment. Journal of Pain, 34(105488), 1-13.
DOI Scopus1 WoS1 Europe PMC1
2024 Ryan, C. G., Karran, E. L., Wallwork, S. B., Pate, J. W., O'Keeffe, M., Fullen, B. M., . . . Moseley, G. L. (2024). We are all in this together-whole of community pain science education campaigns to promote better management of persistent pain. Journal of Pain, 25(4), 902-917.
DOI Scopus27 WoS28 Europe PMC21
2024 Howlett, C. A., Stanford, T., Berryman, C., Karran, E. L., Bellan, V., Coussens, S., . . . Moseley, G. L. (2024). Investigating self-report and neuropsychological assessments of cognitive flexibility in people with and without persistent pain: An online, cross-sectional, observational study. British Journal of Pain, 18(2), 176-196.
DOI Scopus9 WoS9 Europe PMC7
2024 Karran, E. L., Cashin, A. G., Barker, T., Boyd, M. A., Chiarotto, A., Mohabir, V., . . . Moseley, G. L. (2024). Development of recommendations for a minimum dataset for Identifying Social factors that Stratify Health Opportunities and Outcomes (ISSHOOs) in pain research. MethodsX, 12(102496), 1-9.
DOI WoS9 Europe PMC6
2024 Leake, H. B., Heathcote, L. C., Ferencz, N., Birnie, K. A., Davis, A., Karran, E. L., . . . Moseley, G. L. (2024). Co-design and evaluation of pain science messages on social media with adolescents with a history of chronic pain. The Journal of Pain, 25(9, article no. 104580), 1-16.
DOI Scopus7 WoS7 Europe PMC6
2023 Karran, E. L., Grant, A. R., Lee, H., Kamper, S. J., Williams, C. M., Wiles, L. K., . . . Moseley, G. L. (2023). Do health education initiatives assist socioeconomically disadvantaged populations? A systematic review and meta-analyses. BMC Public Health, 23(1, article no. 453), 1-49.
DOI Scopus24 WoS23 Europe PMC23
2023 Karran, E. L., Cashin, A. G., Barker, T., Boyd, M. A., Chiarotto, A., Dewidar, O., . . . Identifying Social Factors that Stratify Health Opportunities and Outcomes (ISSHOOs) Collaborative Core Research Group. (2023). The 'what' and 'how' of screening for social needs in healthcare settings: a scoping review. PeerJ, 11(e15263), e15263-1-e15263-19.
DOI Scopus35 WoS37 Europe PMC32
2023 Karran, E. L., Cashin, A. G., Barker, T., Boyd, M. A., Chiarotto, A., Dewidar, O., . . . Moseley, G. L. (2023). Using PROGRESS-Plus to identify current approaches to the collection and reporting of equity-relevant data: a scoping review. Journal of clinical epidemiology, 163, 70-78.
DOI Scopus64 WoS65 Europe PMC38
2023 Karran, E. L., Fryer, C. E., Middleton, J. W., & Moseley, G. L. (2023). Pain and pain management experiences following spinal cord injury - a mixed methods study of Australian community-dwelling adults. Disability and Rehabilitation, 45(3), 455-468.
DOI Scopus13 WoS14 Europe PMC10
2023 Karran, E. L., Wiles, L. K., Wilson, D. J., & Moseley, G. L. (2023). Best practice care for persistent pain in adults with spinal cord injuries: a systematic review and narrative synthesis of clinical practice guideline recommendations. Disability and Rehabilitation, 45(15), 2539-2548.
DOI Scopus5 WoS6 Europe PMC5
2022 Howlett, C. A., Wewege, M. A., Berryman, C., Oldach, A., Jennings, E., Moore, E., . . . Moseley, G. L. (2022). Back to the drawing board-The relationship between self-report and neuropsychological tests of cognitive flexibility in clinical cohorts: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Neuropsychology, 36(5), 347-372.
DOI Scopus34 WoS33 Europe PMC23
2022 Leake, H. B., Mardon, A., Stanton, T. R., Harvie, D. S., Butler, D. S., Karran, E. L., . . . Berryman, C. (2022). Key Learning Statements for persistent pain education: an iterative analysis of consumer, clinician and researcher perspectives and development of public messaging. The Journal of Pain, 23(11), 1989-2001.
DOI Scopus29 WoS26 Europe PMC22
2022 O'Hagan, E. T., Skinner, I. W., Jones, M. D., Karran, E. L., Traeger, A. C., Cashin, A. G., . . . McAuley, J. H. (2022). Development and measurement properties of the AxEL (attitude toward education and advice for low-back-pain) questionnaire. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 20(4), 1-13.
DOI Scopus7 WoS7 Europe PMC5
2022 Karran, E. L., Fryer, C. E., Middleton, J. W., & Moseley, G. L. (2022). Exploring the Social Determinants of Health Outcomes for Adults with Low Back Pain or Spinal Cord Injury and Persistent Pain: A Mixed Methods Study. Journal of Pain, 23(9), 1461-1479.
DOI Scopus30 WoS31 Europe PMC23
2022 Yap, Z. L., Summers, S. J., Grant, A. R., Moseley, G. L., & Karran, E. L. (2022). The role of the social determinants of health in outcomes of surgery for low back pain: a systematic review and narrative synthesis. The Spine Journal, 22(5), 793-809.
DOI Scopus43 WoS39 Europe PMC31
2021 Howlett, C. A., Wewege, M. A., Berryman, C., Oldach, A., Jennings, E., Moore, E., . . . Moseley, G. L. (2021). Same room - different windows? A systematic review and meta-analysis of the relationship between self-report and neuropsychological tests of cognitive flexibility in healthy adults. Clinical Psychology Review, 88(article no. 102061), 102061-1-102061-21.
DOI Scopus49 WoS45 Europe PMC40
2020 Stanton, T. R., Karran, E. L., Butler, D. S., Hull, M. J., Schwetlik, S. N., Braithwaite, F. A., . . . Bennell, K. (2020). A pain science education and walking program to increase physical activity in people with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis: A feasibility study. PAIN Reports, 5(5), e830-1-e830-13.
DOI Scopus28 WoS29 Europe PMC16
2020 Riis, A., Karran, E. L., Thomsen, J. L., Jørgensen, A., Holst, S., & Rolving, N. (2020). The association between believing staying active is beneficial and achieving a clinically relevant functional improvement after 52 weeks: a prospective cohort study of patients with chronic low back pain in secondary care. BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, 21(1, article no. 47), 1-9.
DOI Scopus7 WoS7 Europe PMC6
2020 Gardner, C., Moseley, G. L., Karran, E. L., Wiles, L. K., & Hibbert, P. (2020). Implementing high value back pain care in private physiotherapy in Australia: a qualitative evaluation of physiotherapists who participated in an 'implementation to innovation' system. Canadian Journal of Pain, 4(1), 86-102.
DOI Scopus10 WoS10 Europe PMC8
2020 Karran, E. L., Grant, A. R., & Moseley, G. L. (2020). Low back pain and the social determinants of health: A systematic review and narrative synthesis. Pain, 161(11), 2476-2493.
DOI Scopus220 WoS207 Europe PMC175
2019 Medalian, Y., Moseley, G. L., & Karran, E. L. (2019). An online investigation into the impact of adding epidemiological information to imaging reports for low back pain. Scandinavian journal of pain, 19(3), 629-633.
DOI Scopus5 WoS5 Europe PMC5
2019 Riis, A., Karran, E. L., Hill, J. C., Jensen, M. B., & Thomsen, J. L. (2019). A conceptual framework for increasing clinical staff member involvement in general practice: a proposed strategy to improve the management of low back pain. BMC family practice, 20(1), 1-7.
DOI Scopus5 WoS5 Europe PMC5
2018 Karran, E., Yau, Y., Hillier, S., & Moseley, G. (2018). The reassuring potential of spinal imaging results: development and testing of a brief, psycho-education intervention for patients attending secondary care. European Spine Journal, 27(1), 101-108.
DOI Scopus13 WoS13 Europe PMC11
2018 Karran, E., Hillier, S., Yau, Y., McAuley, J., & Moseley, G. (2018). A quasi-randomised, controlled, feasibility trial of GLITtER (Green Light Imaging Interpretation to Enhance Recovery)-a psychoeducational intervention for adults with low back pain attending secondary care. PeerJ, 6(e4301), 4301-1-4301-20.
DOI Scopus11 WoS11 Europe PMC10
2018 Wheeler, L. P., Karran, E. L., & Harvie, D. S. (2018). Low back pain: Can we mitigate the inadvertent psycho-behavioural harms of spinal imaging?. Australian Journal of General Practice, 47(9), 614-617.
DOI Scopus19 Europe PMC20
2018 Wheeler, L. P., Karran, E. L., & Harvie, D. S. (2018). Low back pain <i>Can we mitigate the inadvertent psycho-behavioural harms of spinal imaging?</i>. AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF GENERAL PRACTICE, 47(9), 610-613.
WoS8
2017 Karran, E., McAuley, J., Traeger, A., Hillier, S., Grabherr, L., Russek, L., & Moseley, G. (2017). Can screening instruments accurately determine poor outcome risk in adults with recent onset low back pain? A systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Medicine, 15(1), 13-1-13-15.
DOI Scopus144 WoS137 Europe PMC97
2017 Karran, E., Traeger, A., McAuley, J., Hillier, S., Yau, Y., & Moseley, G. (2017). The Value of Prognostic Screening for Patients With Low Back Pain in Secondary Care. Journal of Pain, 18(6), 673-686.
DOI Scopus32 WoS30 Europe PMC31
2017 Karran, E., McAuley, J., Traeger, A., Hillier, S., Grabherr, L., Russek, L., & Moseley, G. (2017). Erratum to: Can screening instruments accurately determine poor outcome risk in adults with recent onset low back pain? A systematic review and meta-analysis. [BMC Med. 15, (2017), (1), (13)] DOI: 10.1186/s12916-016-0774-4. BMC Medicine, 15(1), 2 pages.
DOI Scopus3
2017 Karran, E. L., Medalian, Y., Hillier, S. L., & Moseley, G. L. (2017). The impact of choosing words carefully: an online investigation into imaging reporting strategies and best practice care for low back pain. PeerJ, 2017(12), e4151-1-e4151-12.
DOI Scopus28 WoS28 Europe PMC24

Year Citation
2021 Yap, Z. L., Summers, S. J., Grant, A. R., Moseley, G. L., & Karran, E. L. (2021). SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH AND SURGICAL OUTCOMES FOR CHRONIC LOWER BACK PAIN: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW. In INTERNAL MEDICINE JOURNAL Vol. 51 (pp. 20). WILEY.

Year Citation
2025 Henry, M. L., O’Connell, N. E., Riley, R. D., Moons, K. G. M., Shea, B. J., Hooft, L., . . . Moseley, G. L. (2025). Agreeability testing of AMSTAR-PF, a tool for quality appraisal of systematic reviews of prognostic factor studies.
DOI
  • Investigating Social Factors that Stratify Health Opportunities and Outcomes (ISSHOOs) in Pain Research, The Mayday Fund, 03/02/2025 - 02/02/2027

Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name
2023 Co-Supervisor Co-designing better pain care for refugees  Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Dr Ruth Pokuah Appiah
2023 Co-Supervisor 110375 - Designing better pain care for refugees Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Karma Phuentsho

Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name
2021 - 2025 Co-Supervisor Pain care in rural Australia - what's working, what's not, and where to from here? Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Part Time Ms Ashley Grant

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