Promoting self-care in clients with arthritis

Area of Science:

• Rheumatology
• Health Education
• Patient Adherence

Background:

• Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) management requires effective patient education for self-care.
• Individualized instructional programs may enhance patient understanding and adherence to treatment regimens.
• Current educational strategies for RA patients need further evaluation for efficacy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and pilot an individualized instructional program for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) clients.
• To assess the program's impact on patient knowledge, performance of self-care activities, and adherence.
• To explore the effects of self-instruction, practice time, and contracting on RA self-care.

Main Methods:

• A pilot study involving 31 RA outpatients compared an experimental group with a control group.
• Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to compare knowledge post-test scores.
• A follow-up study with 42 experimental participants and 11 controls examined adherence to self-care, including joint protection and range of motion exercises.

Main Results:

• The experimental group showed significantly higher knowledge post-test scores in both the pilot and follow-up studies (P = 0.0045 and P < 0.01, respectively).
• Significant improvements were observed in the experimental group's performance of joint protection practices and range of motion exercises (P = 0.01).
• Adherence to joint protection practices at home significantly improved in the experimental group (P < 0.01), while adherence to range of motion exercises did not differ significantly (P = 0.83).

Conclusions:

• An individualized instructional program is effective in increasing rheumatoid arthritis patients' knowledge.
• The program positively impacts adherence to crucial self-care activities like joint protection.
• This approach holds potential for improving self-management and outcomes in rheumatoid arthritis patients.