TY - JOUR T1 - Effect of a collective educational program for patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a prospective 12-month randomized controlled trial. JF - The Journal of Rheumatology JO - J Rheumatol SP - 1684 LP - 1691 VL - 34 IS - 8 AU - Janine-Sophie Giraudet-Le Quintrec AU - Anne Mayoux-Benhamou AU - Philippe Ravaud AU - Karine Champion AU - Emmanuelle Dernis AU - Djamila Zerkak AU - Amel Ouslimani AU - Jean-Pierre Courpied AU - Michel Revel AU - André Kahan AU - Maxime Dougados Y1 - 2007/08/01 UR - http://www.jrheum.org/content/34/8/1684.abstract N2 - OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect on health and functional status of an 8-week group-education program for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in addition to usual medical care. METHODS: All consecutive inpatients and outpatients with RA (ACR criteria) were asked to participate in this randomized, prospective, controlled trial. The educational intervention consisted of 8 weekly ambulatory sessions, each lasting 6 hours. Followup was undertaken after 1 year. The primary criterion for judging effectiveness was the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) score; secondary criteria consisted of coping, medical knowledge, patient global satisfaction, and quality of life scores before the intervention and after 1 year. RESULTS: We asked 1242 inpatients and outpatients to participate in the study: 208 (16.75%) agreed (104 in each group). At baseline, there was no statistically significant difference between the 2 groups. After 1 year, no statistically significant difference was observed between the 2 groups in change in HAQ score: -0.04 +/- 0.46 (education group) vs -0.06 +/- 0.47 (control group) (p = 0.79). Statistically significant differences were found in 3 domains: patient coping (-1.22 +/- 5.55 vs -0.22 +/- 3.81; p = 0.03), knowledge (3.42 +/- 4.73 vs 0.73 +/- 3.78; p < 0.0001), and satisfaction (10.07 +/- 11.70 vs 5.72 +/- 13.77; p = 0.02), all of which were better for the group attending the education sessions. CONCLUSION: Despite improvements in patient coping, knowledge, and satisfaction, the education program was not found to be effective at 1 year. There may have been methodological problems relating to the sensitivity of questionnaires and patient selection, and tailored educational interventions should be considered. ER -