R. Maisiak et al., HEALTH OUTCOMES OF 2 TELEPHONE INTERVENTIONS FOR PATIENTS WITH RHEUMATOID-ARTHRITIS OR OSTEOARTHRITIS, Arthritis and rheumatism, 39(8), 1996, pp. 1391-1399
Objective, The effects of treatment counseling or symptom monitoring t
elephone intervention strategies on the health outcomes of patients wi
th rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or osteoarthritis (OA), compared with usu
al care, were assessed, Methods, A 3-group, randomized, controlled 9-m
onth trial was conducted incorporating 405 patients with RA or OA and
using the Arthritis Impact Measurement Scales (AIMS2) as the outcome m
easure, Results, Analyses of covariance showed that the AIMS2 total he
alth status of the treatment counseling group (effect size = 33, P < 0
.01), but not the symptom monitoring group (effect size = 0.21, P = 0.
10), was significantly improved, compared with usual care, for both RA
and OA patients, The specific types of benefits differed significantl
y between RA and OA patients, The mean number of medical visits by OA
patients in the treatment counseling group was also significantly redu
ced (P < 0.01), Conclusion, Telephone contact using the treatment coun
seling strategy produced significant, but different, health status ben
efits for RA and OA patients, The symptom monitoring strategy produced
modest benefits.