Functional and work outcomes improve in patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) who receive targeted comprehensive occupational therapy

Completed

Conditions: Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)
Musculoskeletal Diseases

Registration Number: ISRCTN36516369

Lead Sponsor: Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust (UK)

Brief Summary: Not available

Detailed Description: Not available

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status: Completed

Sex: All

Target Recruitment: 34

Inclusion Criteria

Employed RA patients were recruited at the Inflammatory Arthritis Centres (IACs), Guy's and St. Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, to ensure standardised medical management. Within the IACs the focus of medical treatment is on early, aggressive management with a goal of achievement of remission (the Disease Activity Score 28-joint assessment [DAS28] <2.6). Participants were eligible if they:
1. Had a confirmed diagnosis of RA
2. Were involved in full time/part-time work or were self employed
3. Were fluent in English
4. Lived locally
5. Had medium or high Work Disability (WD) risk on the RA-Work Instability Scale (RA-WIS)

Exclusion Criteria

1. Participating in another trial
2. Other major co-morbidities (e.g. cancer, fibromyalgia)
3. Pending major surgery/retirement in the next year
4. Had received OT intervention within the past 18 months

Study & Design

Study Type: Interventional

Study Design: Not specified

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
The following outcomes were measured at baseline and 6 months: <br>1. The Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM). The COPM is a well known standardised semi-structured interview tool designed for use by OTs to detect change in a patient's self perception of occupational performance. <br><br>2. The Health Assessment Questionnaire ? Disability Index (HAQ-DI) is a standardised, self-administered, written questionnaire developed to assess the extent of the patient's functional ability.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
The following outcomes were measured at baseline and 6 months: <br>1. The RA-Work Instability Scale (RA-WIS) is a self administered written validated questionnaire used to screen for WD. The questionnaire takes less than 5 minutes to complete by checking 'yes' or 'no' boxes in a series of 23 questions. <br><br>2. The Modified Health Economics Questionnaire combined measures of presenteeism and absenteeism. This is a written self-report questionnaire which includes the following:<br>a. Number of days/hours at work per week<br>b. Number of days missed from work in the past month due to RA<br>c. A 100 mm Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) for work performance and work satisfaction affected by RA, in the past week