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Stories for Reprint
Just What the Doctor Ordered
By Ferdous Al-Faruque, MARRTC Staff
A recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found that health care professionals have the biggest impact in persuading patients with arthritis to take self-management courses.
"There are many reasons that people with arthritis can benefit from self-management programs," said Louise Murphy an epidemiologist with the CDC's Arthritis Program and principal investigator of the study. She says such courses have been found to be effective in teaching people with arthritis how to reduce pain and improving their quality of living.
Research has shown those who participate in self-management courses can reduce their pain by 20 percent and hospital visits by 40 percent. However, only 1 out of 10 people with the disease report ever having taken such courses.
The CDC study was based on a telephone survey of almost 2000 American adults with arthritis 45 years and older. It found that half of those who took a self-management course had been counseled to do so by their health care provider.
"We suspected that health care providers were influential in peoples' decision to take a self-management class," said Murphy. "However, I don't think we realized just how profound an influence they had."
The study also found that only 1 in 10 people surveyed said they were told by their health care professional to take a self-management course. Those who were told to take a course by their health care provider also tended to have had the disease longer and had more severe physical disability.
"Our findings suggest that health care providers may be waiting until people are experiencing substantial pain and limitations associated with arthritis," said Murphy. "And one of the things that struck us is that if providers suggested a self-management course earlier on -- for instance when arthritis is first diagnosed -- this could be an important step in reducing pain and potentially medical visits among people with arthritis."
Those surveyed were also motivated to participate in a self-management course if they believed it could help them manage their disease and improve their quality of life. However, these were far less motivating factors when compared to the advice of their health care provider.
The study concludes that health care providers should recommend self-management courses to their patients early on and more frequently, and should also be thorough explaining the importance and benefits of taking such courses. After advising patients to take a self-management course, health care providers should do follow-ups with them to check their progress and encourage their attendance.
The CDC suggests people with arthritis take self-management courses such as those offered through the Arthritis Foundation.
According to the Arthritis Foundation there are currently 36 states in the US that offer their six-week self-management courses. They are free of charge but participants may have to buy the course book, which can cost around 15 dollars.
To find more information on the Arthritis Foundation's self-management course and other programs, visit http://www.cdc.gov/arthritis/state_programs/index.htm.
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