An Environmental Scan and Appraisal of Patient Online Resources for Managing Rheumatoid Arthritis Flares

Shakeel Subdar; Alison M Hoens; Krista White; Nicole M S Hartfeld; Kiran Dhiman; Keeva Duffey; Claire E Heath; Gisele Lamoureux; Christine Graveline; Eileen Davidson; Glen Hazlewood; Diane Lacaille; Elena Lopatina; Megan R W Barber; Karen L Then; Trafford Crump; Saania Zafar; Sarah L Manske; Alexandra Charlton; Kelly Osinski; Aurore Fifi-Mah; Dianne Mosher; Claire E H Barber

doi:10.3899/jrheum.2023-1025

An Environmental Scan and Appraisal of Patient Online Resources for Managing Rheumatoid Arthritis Flares

J Rheumatol. 2024 Jun 1;51(6):577-586. doi: 10.3899/jrheum.2023-1025.

Authors

Shakeel Subdar¹, Alison M Hoens², Krista White³, Nicole M S Hartfeld³, Kiran Dhiman³, Keeva Duffey⁴, Claire E Heath⁴, Gisele Lamoureux⁴, Christine Graveline⁴, Eileen Davidson⁴, Glen Hazlewood⁵, Diane Lacaille⁶, Elena Lopatina⁷, Megan R W Barber⁸, Karen L Then⁹, Trafford Crump¹⁰, Saania Zafar¹¹, Sarah L Manske¹², Alexandra Charlton¹³, Kelly Osinski¹³, Aurore Fifi-Mah³, Dianne Mosher³, Claire E H Barber¹⁴

Affiliations

¹ S. Subdar, HBSc, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario.
² A.M. Hoens, PT, MSc, Arthritis Research Canada, and Department of Physical Therapy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia.
³ K. White, MA, N.M.S. Hartfeld, MSc, MC, K. Dhiman, MPH, A. Fifi-Mah, MD, D. Mosher, MD, Department of Medicine, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta.
⁴ K. Duffey, MPH, C.E. Heath, MN, G. Lamoureux, C. Graveline, E. Davidson, Arthritis Patient Advisory Board, Arthritis Research Canada, Vancouver, British Columbia.
⁵ G. Hazlewood, MD, PhD, Arthritis Research Canada, Vancouver, British Columbia, and Department of Medicine, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, and Department of Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta.
⁶ D. Lacaille, MDCM, MHSc, Arthritis Research Canada, and Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia.
⁷ E. Lopatina, MD, PhD, Department of Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, and Alberta Health Services, Calgary, Alberta.
⁸ M.R.W. Barber, MD, PhD, Arthritis Research Canada, Vancouver, British Columbia, and Department of Medicine, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta.
⁹ K.L. Then, ACNP, PhD, Faculty of Nursing, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta.
¹⁰ T. Crump, PhD, Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec.
¹¹ S. Zafar, BCR, MSc, Department of Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta.
¹² S.L. Manske, PhD, Department of Radiology, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta.
¹³ A. Charlton, BScPharm, PharmD, K. Osinski, RN, BN, Alberta Health Services, Calgary, Alberta.
¹⁴ C.E.H. Barber, MD, PhD, Arthritis Research Canada, Vancouver, British Columbia, and Department of Medicine, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, and Department of Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. [email protected].

PMID: 38490667
DOI: 10.3899/jrheum.2023-1025

Abstract

Objective: To conduct an environmental scan and appraisal of online patient resources to support rheumatoid arthritis (RA) flare self-management.

Methods: We used the Google search engine (last search March 2023) using the terms "rheumatoid arthritis" and "flare management." Additional searches targeted major arthritis organizations, as well as regional, national, and international resources. Appraisal of the resources was conducted by 2 research team members and 1 patient partner to assess the understandability and actionability of the resource using the Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool (PEMAT). Resources rating ≥ 60% in both domains by either the research team or the patient partner were further considered for content review. During content review, resources were excluded if they contained product advertisements, inaccurate information, or use of noninclusive language. If content review criteria were met, resources were designated as "highly recommended" if both patient partners and researchers' PEMAT ratings were ≥ 60%. If PEMAT ratings were divergent and had a rating ≥ 60% from only 1 group of reviewers, the resource was designated "acceptable."

Results: We identified 44 resources; 12 were excluded as they did not pass the PEMAT assessment. Fourteen resources received ratings ≥ 60% on understandability and actionability from both researchers and patient partners; 10 of these were retained following content review as "highly recommended" flare resources. Of the 18 divergent PEMAT ratings, 8 resources were retained as "acceptable" following content review.

Conclusion: There is high variability in the actionability and understandability of online RA flare materials; only 23% of resources were highly recommended by researchers and patient partners.

Keywords: pain; patient education; rheumatoid arthritis.

MeSH terms

Arthritis, Rheumatoid* / therapy
Humans
Internet
Patient Education as Topic* / methods
Self-Management / methods
Symptom Flare Up*