Lifestyle discussions facilitate self-management in RA: a qualitative study of patients' perceptions

Healthy lifestyle habits (regular physical activity, a healthy diet, no smoking and non-hazardous alcohol consumption) alongside pharmacological treatment can lower the risk of cardiovascular diseases and improve symptoms and quality of life in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Therefore, healthcare professionals in rheumatology care are urged to discuss lifestyle habits with all patients. The aim of this study was to explore patients' perceptions of lifestyle discussions in early rheumatology care.

Individual interviews were conducted with 20 patients with RA, 14 women and six men, aged 23 to 77 years, and with a mean disease duration of 2.4 years. All lifestyle discussions were performed during the first year with RA. A qualitative content analysis was performed.

An overarching theme emerged, exploring how patients with RA perceived lifestyle discussions as facilitating self-management. Three categories illustrated this: (1) the usefulness of lifestyle discussions depended on the individual patient's preferences and prioritization for lifestyle support; (2) the design of lifestyle discussions should be based on a person-centred approach, incorporating personalized lifestyle information and providing structured and recurrent support; (3) the outcomes of lifestyle discussions should contribute to enhanced knowledge and motivation for making healthy lifestyle changes.

Lifestyle discussions in early rheumatology care should, according to patients with RA, be based on a person-centred approach, be tailored to each patient's preferences and needs, and have outcomes focusing on patient support for healthy lifestyle changes, all essential elements to facilitate self-management. The present findings can be used to guide the development and implementation of more person-centred lifestyle approaches targeted to facilitate lifestyle changes and benefit cardiovascular disease risk management in early rheumatology care.