Group education for rheumatoid arthritis patients

This article reviews the effectiveness of group education programs in improving the knowledge, behavior, and health status of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and evaluates to what extent various programs fulfill certain criteria for educational self-management programs. Thirty-one studies are reviewed: in 12, patients with various rheumatic diseases including RA were included, and in 19, only RA patients were studied. Group education increased the knowledge of the participants, which was maintained over long intervals. Beneficial behavioral effects were found in mixed populations but less often found in RA patients. Group education often improved physical health status both in mixed and in RA populations, but seldom led to improved psychosocial health status. In general, the beneficial effects of group education were found more often in mixed populations than in strictly RA patients. Further investigations must examine which mechanisms make educational interventions effective and determine the types of interventions or combinations of interventions that are effective. Effects of group education on health status are almost never maintained over long intervals. More research is needed to develop strategies for maintaining and enhancing early gains from group education

Health status, adherence with health recommendations, self-efficacy and social support in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

A study was performed in 86 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) to assess their health problems, the problems they experience in adhering to health recommendations and the relationships of these problems with self-efficacy and social support. Feeling dependent, disability and pain were the most important health related problems. The results showed self-efficacy to be related to the subjective experience of health status as measured by DUTCH-AIMS. Social emotional support was not related to health status and contrary to what we expected social instrumental support was positively related to health status. The majority of the patients (55%) experienced adherence problems with health recommendations. These problems were not related to functional incapacity, pain or other aspects of health status but to the patient's self-efficacy expectations about coping with arthritis. Our conclusion is that to improve the self-management of disability and pain and adherence to health recommendations, patient education should be aimed at strengthening self-efficacy expectations in which social emotional support might be a motivating factor

Masterplan Transitie Visserijvloot : memorandum haalbaarheidsonderzoek

Memorandum over de transitie van de visserijvloo

What is the value of multidisciplinary care for chronic kidney disease?

In a Persepctive, Richard Fluck and Maarten Taal discuss the potential value of implementing multidisciplinary care programs for chronic kidney disease

Masterplan Transitie Visserijvloot : memorandum haalbaarheidsonderzoek

Memorandum over de transitie van de visserijvloo

Patient education and disease activity: A study among rheumatoid arthritis patients

Objective: To determine whether patients experiencing high disease activity derive more benefit from patient education than those experiencing low disease activity. - \ud Methods: Data from a randomized study on the effects of a program of patient education were analyzed retrospectively. Four subgroups were studied: the high disease activity subgroup of patients who had participated in the educational program, the complementary low disease activity subgroup, the high disease activity subgroup of controls, and its low disease activity complement. Patients with erythrocyte sedimentation rate >28 mm/first hour were classified as having high disease activity. Effects on frequency of physical exercises, endurance exercises, and relaxation exercises and effects on health status (Modified Health Assessment Questionnaire, Dutch Arthritis Impact Measurement Scales [AIMS]) were measured. - \ud Results: There were no significant differences between the adherence parameters of the various pairs of groups. Four months after the educational program began, anxiety and depression scores on the Dutch-AIMS had increased among participating patients who were experiencing high disease activity and decreased among those who were experiencing low disease activity. - \ud Conclusions: Patients experiencing high disease activity did not derive more benefit from patient education than those experiencing low disease activity. On the contrary, an increase of anxiety and depression is found in these patients. Further study is needed to confirm our findings

Group Education for patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis must learn to adjust their exercise, rest and medication to the varying activity of the disease. Patient education can help patients in making the right decisions about adjustments in their treatment regimen and in attaining ¿self-management¿ behaviors. We developed a group education program based on social learning theory and the `Arthritis Self Management Course¿ developed in the USA by Lorig. Goal of the program is the strengthening of self-efficacy, outcome expectations and self-management behaviors of RA patients which may lead to better health status. The program has been evaluated in an experimental design. We established significant positive effects of the group training on functional disability, joint tenderness, practice of relaxation and physical exercises, self-management behavior, outcome expectations, self-efficacy function and knowledge. After 14 months we still found effects on practice of physical exercises, self-efficacy function and knowledge