Randomized Controlled Trial of Patient Education Tools for Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis

Abstract

Objective The present study was undertaken to evaluate the efficacy of 2 educational tools for patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) by comparing a newly developed video tool, including storylines and testimonials, combined with a written booklet to the same written booklet alone. Methods We conducted a randomized controlled trial. Our primary outcome was disease knowledge. Secondary outcomes were decisional conflict, self‐efficacy, effective health care management, and satisfaction. Outcomes were measured before and after reviewing the materials, and 3 and 6 months later. Linear mixed‐effects models were performed to evaluate changes over time. Results In total, 221 participants received an educational video and booklet (n = 111) or a booklet alone (n = 110). The mean age was 50.8 years, mean disease duration was 4.8 years, 85% were female, and 24% had limited health literacy levels. Within groups, most outcomes improved between baseline and follow‐up, but there were no statistically significant differences across groups. Patients receiving the video and booklet were more likely than those receiving the booklet alone to rate the presentation as excellent for providing information about the impact of RA, medication options, evidence about medications, benefits of medication, and self‐care options. Factors significantly associated with greater improvements in knowledge and decisional conflict from baseline to 6 months included limited health literacy, lower educational level, and shorter disease duration. Conclusion Regardless of the delivery method, outcomes were improved up to 6 months after educational materials were delivered. Our findings support the implementation of self‐administered educational materials in clinical settings, as they can result in sustained improvements in disease knowledge and decisional conflict.

Effects of e‐health interventions on health outcomes in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a systematic review and meta‐analysis

“…Thirty‐four articles were then further assessed by examining the full texts, with 25 articles being excluded, of which 6 studies (Ambrosino et al, 2020; Mary et al, 2019; Myasoedova et al, 2019; Pers et al, 2021; Taylor‐Gjevre et al, 2018; de Thurah et al, 2018) were excluded because the data were not accessible, although these studies were relevant to the subject matter of our study. Finally, a total of 9 randomised control trials (Katz et al, 2018; Kuusalo et al, 2020; Lee et al, 2021; Lopez‐Olivo et al, 2020; Miedany et al, 2016; Poggenborg et al, 2021; Shigaki et al, 2013; Song et al, 2020; Zuidema et al, 2019) were included in this review.…”

“…These 9 randomised controlled trials were published from 2013–2021. Four studies (Katz et al, 2018; Lee et al, 2021; Lopez‐Olivo et al, 2020; Shigaki et al, 2013) were conducted in the USA, and the other studies were conducted in China (Song et al, 2020), Denmark (Poggenborg et al, 2021), Finland (Kuusalo et al, 2020), Netherlands (Zuidema et al, 2019) and UK (Miedany et al, 2016). The total sample size was 1501 patients, among which 750 participated in the e‐health group, while 751 participated in the control group.…”

A longitudinal study of educational needs among patients with inflammatory arthritis

“…The benefits of more activated patients are substantial, and the benefits can last for several years (Hibbard et al, 2015). It is therefore important to integrate information about patients' knowledge, skill, and confidence for self-management (Hibbard et al, 2015) in the follow-up of patients in rheumatology care (Lopez-Olivo et al, 2020).…”

“…Patient education can be provided in different formats such as individually, to patients in groups, in written materials, videos (des Bordes et al, 2018;Lopez-Olivo et al, 2020;Stenberg et al, 2016) or as avatar-based technology (Wonggom et al, 2019). Studies show that self-administered educational materials in clinical settings improve patients' disease knowledge (Lopez-Olivo et al, 2020) and that the Internet is widely used to search for health information (des Bordes et al, 2018;Lopez-Olivo et al, 2020).…”

“…Patient education can be provided in different formats such as individually, to patients in groups, in written materials, videos (des Bordes et al, 2018;Lopez-Olivo et al, 2020;Stenberg et al, 2016) or as avatar-based technology (Wonggom et al, 2019). Studies show that self-administered educational materials in clinical settings improve patients' disease knowledge (Lopez-Olivo et al, 2020) and that the Internet is widely used to search for health information (des Bordes et al, 2018;Lopez-Olivo et al, 2020). However, the Internet does not comprehensively address all educational needs of patients with arthritis (Siddhanamatha et al, 2017) but the use of technology in patient education has a potential to enhance traditional patient education and reach more patients.…”