What arthritis pain practitioners and patients want in an online self-management programme

Self-management of pain is a critical component of arthritis care; however, limited mobility can restrict access to resources. Although the internet has become a primary source of health information, few studies address what patients want and need from a self-management website.

Thirty-two people diagnosed with arthritis and 12 practitioners a) participated in individual one-hour interviews and b) sorted and rated a list of 88 unique statements that were derived from the interviews. Qualitative data were analysed using concept mapping procedures.

The six-cluster map provided the best discrimination between statements. Follow-up analyses suggested that although patients with arthritis and practitioners generally agree on the categories of content on a self-management website about arthritis, they appear to disagree on the importance of each category.

These findings about patient and provider desired content can be used by health educators to develop a curriculum for health education of patients with arthritis pain.