JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Living with a chronic illness such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) requires medications and therapies, as well as long-term follow-up with multidisciplinary clinical teams. Patient involvement in the shared decision-making process on medication regimens is an important element in promoting medication adherence. The community-based chronic care model-of-care concept aligns well with promoting patient empowerment and the right to make their own health-related decisions. Thus, an empowerment intervention was developed to help patients living with RA, manage their medication regimen.

Objective:

To discuss the intervention mapping process in the design of an intervention that supports patient empowerment as a process and to evaluate its feasibility in patients with RA.

Methods:

The theory-based Patient Empowerment (PE) to Medication Adherence Programme (PE2MAP) for RA patients was built upon Zimmerman’s Psychological Empowerment framework, an online program, launched through the Udemy website. A pilot feasibility study was completed on 30 patients who were actively taking medication for RA to test the acceptability and feasibility of the PE2MAP.

Results:

Of the 30 participants, 26 (86.7%) completed the study. More than 80% of the participants reported that PE2MAP gave them a better understanding of RA and the management of medications’ side effects. More than 90% of participants reported that they had learned new skills to manage their RA, as well as better communication skills to discuss issues with their providers. Most of the participants unanimously reported that they would recommend PE2MAP to other RA patients.

Conclusions:

The PE2MAP has demonstrated to be acceptable and feasible as an online tool to empower patients with RA, further qualitative studies are needed to explore gaps and domains that can further enhance the effectiveness of this intervention in the management of patients with RA.