Use of eHealth by Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis: Observational, Cross-sectional, Multicenter Study

The use of eHealth tools (eg, the internet, mobile apps, and connected devices) in the management of chronic diseases and for rheumatoid arthritis is growing. eHealth may improve the overall quality of care provided to patients with chronic diseases.

The primary objective of this study was to describe eHealth use by patients with rheumatoid arthritis in France. The secondary objectives were to identify associations between patient demographics and disease characteristics and the use of eHealth tools, and assess their expectations of eHealth.

In this cross-sectional, multicenter study, patients with rheumatoid arthritis, according to the 2010 ACR/EULAR classification criteria, were recruited from 5 university hospitals (Bordeaux, Clermont-Ferrand, Limoges, Montpellier, and Toulouse). Patients completed an anonymous self-questionnaire, including demographic data, evaluating their eHealth use (ie, access, support, frequency of use, type of use, and reason for use). The rheumatologist in charge of each patient completed an independent medical questionnaire on disease characteristics, activity of rheumatoid arthritis, and treatments. Data were collected between December 2018 and July 2019.

Questionnaires were completed by 575 participants, with a mean age of 62 (SD 13) years, 447 (77.7%) of whom were female. Overall, 82.2% (473/575) of the participants had access to eHealth through a computer (402/467, 86.1%), tablet (188/467, 40.2%), or smartphone (221/467, 47.3%). Of these, 36.4% (170/467) of the participants used the internet for health in general, and 28.7% (134/467) used it specifically for rheumatoid arthritis-related reasons. All these 134 patients used eHealth to learn about disease pathology, and 66.4% (89/134) of them used it as a tool to help monitor rheumatoid arthritis. Most patients (87/125, 69.6%) had a paper file, 19.2% (24/125) used a digital tool (spreadsheets, 10/125, 8%; mobile app, 9/125, 7.2%; or website, 5/125, 4%), and 24.8% (31/125) did not use any tools for monitoring. Few patients (16/125, 12.8%) used tools for treatment reminders. About 21.6% (27/125) of the patients using eHealth used a specific app for rheumatoid arthritis. Univariate analysis showed that age, education level, employment status, treatment, comorbidities, membership of a patient association, and patient education program were associated with eHealth use for rheumatoid arthritis. Multivariate analysis showed that membership of a patient association (odds ratio [OR] 5.8, 95% CI 3.0-11.2), use of biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (OR 0.6, 95% CI 0.4-1.0), and comorbidities (OR 0.7, 95% CI 0.6-0.8) remained associated with eHealth use for rheumatoid arthritis. Recommendation by a doctor (225/330, 68.2%), ease of use (105/330, 31.8%), and data security (69/330, 20.9%) were factors favoring the use of eHealth.

To date, few patients have used eHealth for disease management. The use of a reliable and validated eHealth tool for rheumatoid arthritis could therefore be promoted by rheumatologists and could optimize therapeutic adherence.