The use of self-management strategies by people with rheumatoid arthritis

To investigate seven common arthritis self-management methods used by people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) by studying their frequency of use and the patients' belief in their benefits. Also to look at how people obtained information about such methods.

Cross-sectional survey.

Forty-one people with RA attending a rheumatology outpatient department at a large district general hospital.

Twenty-three recalled receiving some self-management advice from rheumatology team members, but most stated the commonest source of information was arthritis books and leaflets (n = 29). Two-thirds used technical aids and rest on a daily basis, half used exercise and heat (half doing so daily). A quarter to a half used relaxation, joint protection and working splints (half doing so daily).

People with RA reported using three or four self-management methods simultaneously to help control symptoms. In the main, believing a method to be beneficial was strongly related to its use. However, exercise and joint protection, whilst widely believed to be beneficial, were less used. People reported problems with knowing how to do these correctly, having insufficient time to practise sufficiently and difficulty in establishing habits.