GROUP EDUCATION FOR PEOPLE WITH ARTHRITIS

Arthritis is a common chronic disease causing pain and progressive dis ability to millions of people. The purpose of the study was to examine the effectiveness of group patient education for people with one form of arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis (AS), in terms of change in: art hritis self-efficacy; psychological well-being; physical well-being; a nd home exercise activities. The Self-Management Course-Ankylosing Spo ndylitis (SMC-AS) demonstrated positive effects on arthritis self-effi cacy and psychological well-being at 6-month follow-up. Analysis of ch ange over time in the intervention group showed improvements in depres sion, self-efficacy and severity at 3 weeks, with trends towards conti nued improvement evident at 6 months. In contrast, the positive effect s on range and frequency of home exercise activities at 3 weeks were n ot maintained at 6 months. In conclusion, the effectiveness of short, intensive patient education courses was demonstrated. However, the nee d for strategies to sustain improvements in exercise behaviour need to be explored.