Interprofessional Learning Boosts Primary Care Arthritis Management

Interprofessional learning may be effective for dissemination of guidelines for the management of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteoarthritis (OA). Such a method has the potential to improve the delivery of arthritis care.

Lineker and associates evaluated the Getting a Grip on Arthritis^© program, a workshop on the evidence-based management of OA and RA. Multidisciplinary arthritis specialists received standardized training and materials that emphasized the early identification and differentiation of arthritis, pharmacological and nonpharmacological care, self-management support, and appropriate referral to specialists. Six months of reinforcement activities included educational materials, posters, and resource lists for staff and patients. Workshop participants were assessed at baseline and 6 months post-workshop with a modified version of the Arthritis Research and Evaluation Unit Primary Care Survey, which asked what interventions and referrals (best practices) they would recommend for 3 case scenarios (typical early and late RA and moderate knee OA).

Best practice scores were low for all 3 case scenarios at baseline and improved significantly at 6 months post-workshop. Scores varied by provider discipline; nurse practitioners and rehabilitation therapists showed the most improvement.