Arthritis is one of the most prevalent activity-limiting conditions among older persons in developed countries. Its prevalence increases steeply with age. A local household survey showed that 12.8% of the population suffered from arthritis required long-term medical follow-up. From a nursing perspective, an essential question is how to best assist arthritis client toward empowering self-management skills necessary for improved pain control or arthritis-related symptom. This random controlled trial aims to determine the effectiveness of the arthritis self-management programme (ASMP) in reducing joint pain and enhancing day-to-day self-management in outpatients with arthritis. A convenience sample of 44 Chinese with arthritis receiving out-patient arthritis care participate in this study on voluntary basis are randomly allocated in either 6-week ASMP or control group. The ASMP comprises six weekly sessions, each lasting 2 hours, delivered in small outpatient groups by nurses. The major components of the ASMP include arthritis-related symptom management, Tai Chi exercise, diet, relieving stress and self-management principle. Affected joint pain rating, range of motion, muscle strength, daily activities level score, self-efficacy arthritis level, compliance level on exercise are assessed at three times points (1) before the intervention, (2) one week after and (3) four months after the completion of the ASMP among the intervention and control groups. Descriptive and repeated measures ANOVA statistics are used to analyze the data. Currently, we are still in the middle of the stage of 1-week post-intervention follow-up measurement. Our preliminary results indicate that the ASMP improves in the joint pain rating and the overall self-efficacy arthritis score at 1-week follow-up period. In contracts to control group, there is no significant improvement in daily activities level, muscle strength and range of motion. We believe that this study will help to address the role of incorporate behavioral strategies in arthritis patient education into regular outpatient visits.
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