Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Exploring the impacts of a consumer eLearning course on osteoarthritis beliefs, treatment choices and outcomes in people with hip/knee osteoarthritis: a qualitative study guided by the Common Sense Model of Self-Regulation
ABSTRACT
Background:
First-line management for hip and knee osteoarthritis (OA) includes lifestyle treatments such as exercise and weight loss (if appropriate), with joint replacement surgery recommended only for severe symptoms after these options have been exhausted. However, many people with OA hold misconceptions about the condition, leading to lower acceptance of nonsurgical treatments like exercise and the mistaken belief that surgery is their only option. Novel patient education approaches that address these misconceptions are recommended to improve uptake of lifestyle treatments, reducing unnecessary surgeries, and improving outcomes for people with OA. We developed a 4-week self-directed consumer eLearning course on OA management. In a randomized controlled trial (RCT), use of the course led to immediate and sustained improvements in OA knowledge. Yet, participants’ perspectives on the course and an understanding of how it impacted OA beliefs, treatment choices and outcomes was unknown.
Objective:
To explore how an eLearning course for people with hip and knee OA may have impacted their OA beliefs, treatment choices and outcomes.
Methods:
Qualitative study using semi-structured individual interviews (n=20) with randomized controlled trial participants with knee/hip OA who accessed a 4-week consumer eLearning course about OA and its management. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and thematically analysed following a Framework Approach which was guided by the Common Sense Model of Self-Regulation.
Results:
Four themes were developed from the interviews: 1) Reshaped beliefs and attitudes about OA and its management (Learnt progression is not inevitable; Learnt that the joint doesn't need 'protecting'; Learnt surgery is not the only option; Reinforced the importance of recommended self-management approaches); 2) Adopted a proactive approach to management (Increased use of physical activity and exercise; Prompted care-seeking); 3) Now a more positive mindset (Less fear and worry; Increased confidence to keep living; Positivity, hope and optimism for the future); 4) Supporting learning and shifts in beliefs (Information perceived as trustworthy; Appreciated the variety of learning formats and resources; Repetition and time investment; Additional assistance desired).
Conclusions:
The eLearning resulted in shifts in participants’ beliefs and attitudes towards OA and its management, which led to increased confidence in living with OA and a more optimistic outlook on the future. The eLearning course is freely available and could be a valuable resource for people with OA to enhance their understanding of the condition and its management. Clinical Trial: N/A
Citation
Request queued. Please wait while the file is being generated. It may take some time.
Copyright
© The authors. All rights reserved. This is a privileged document currently under peer-review/community review (or an accepted/rejected manuscript). Authors have provided JMIR Publications with an exclusive license to publish this preprint on it's website for review and ahead-of-print citation purposes only. While the final peer-reviewed paper may be licensed under a cc-by license on publication, at this stage authors and publisher expressively prohibit redistribution of this draft paper other than for review purposes.