Evaluation of Educational Interventions for Osteoarthritics

Abstract

This experimental field study evaluated educational interventions for osteoarthritics which focused on pain and disease management. One hundred-sixty subjects were obtained from four different settings. Using a factorial design, patients were randomly assigned to one of five treatment groups: (a) an information brochure only; (b) joint preservation teaching plus the brochure; (c) relaxation procedure plus the brochure; (d) relaxation procedure, joint preservation teaching and the brochure; and (e) no treatment. Effectiveness of each intervention was determined by measures of pain and stiffness, amount of medication, mobility problems, changes in perceived level of stress, and knowledge gained about the illness. Both pre- and posttest measures were obtained. Residualized gain scores tested via a two-way ANOVA model demonstrated an overall significant, decrease for pain (F [4, 140] = 2.45, P < .05). Post hoc analysis identified the source of the decrease to be the relaxation procedure. Another interesting finding was that pain-related stress increased for rural residents and decreased for urban residents. Significant increases in knowledge were found for subjects from a community center, a rural community and a university clinic. Subjects from a community center and a university hospital reported significantly less joint stiffness than subjects from a private hospital clinic.