[Quality assurance of rheumatologic patient education]

Since 1989 patient education programmes for patients with rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis and other spondylarthropathies, systemic lupus erythematosus, vasculitis, fibromyalgia, and juvenile chronic arthritis and their parents have been developed by an interdisciplinary team of the German Society of Rheumatology (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Rheumatologie). Up to date, about 500 people were trained to be group leaders or specialised trainers with an associated train-the-trainer program. In 1999, the Society discharged preliminary guidelines for patient education in rheumatology. Prospective randomised studies demonstrated that patient education led both to an improvement of knowledge, self-efficacy and self-help activities and to an improvement of arthritis-related helplessness and pain, and a reduction of both temporary and permanent disability.