Self-Management of Arthritis reduces anxiety
Self-management programmes for people with osteoarthritis reduce anxiety but do not reduce pain, or the number of visits patients make to their GP, a recent study reveals.
Dr Marta Buszewicz and colleagues, from the Royal Free and University College Medical School, investigated a patient-centred self-management programme for osteoarthritis.
They recruited 812 patients aged 50 years and older with osteoarthritis in their hips, knees or both with pain, disability, or both from 74 UK general practices.
They were divided into two groups. The first were placed on a six-session arthritis self-management programme and education booklet, the second received the education booklet alone.
The participants were asked to complete a questionnaire at the start of the trial, then after four months, and again after a year.
After a year, those on the programme had lower anxiety and depression levels and better confidence in managing their illness. There were no significant differences in reduction in pain, physical functioning or number of visits to the general practitioner.
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 The self management of arthritis programme reduced anxiety and improved participants' perceived self efficacy to manage symptoms, but it had no significant effect on pain, physical functioning, or contact with primary care.
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Autors of the Study |
The authors conclude that there is "little doubt that self-management techniques provide some benefit for those with chronic or long-term conditions" but add that in terms of arthritis self-management programmes "there is currently insufficient evidence to justify a policy of active recruitment of patients from primary care settings."
However, In a study by Lorig and colleagues, published in the April 2003 issue of Arthritis and Rheumatology, patients with arthritis who underwent self-management training experienced 20% less pain and 40% fewer clinician visits compared with baseline amounts. The research also demonstrated benefits for the self-management program in terms of physical disability and cost of care.
The study by Lorig and colleagues was not a randomized trial, and it included patients with both rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. The current randomized research examines the efficacy of a self-management program for patients specifically with osteoarthritis.
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