Managing Osteoarthritis in Primary Care: Exploring Healthcare Professionals' Views on a Multiple-joint Intervention Designed to Facilitate Self-management

Aim: Osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the most common musculoskeletal conditions and a major cause of chronic pain and disability. Self-management of OA through education and exercise are recommended as core treatments. Current research has demonstrated the effectiveness of these approaches, but most trials tailor interventions for specific joints. The aim of the present study was to explore healthcare professionals' views on a group-based exercise intervention designed to facilitate the self-management of OA in the lower limbs and/or lower back.

Methods: Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 healthcare professionals (nine general practitioners, ten physiotherapists and one community-based rheumatologist). The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis.

Results: Three themes were identified: 1) Patient understanding of osteoarthritis; 2) Multiple-joint approach and 3) Practical aspects of the intervention. Healthcare professionals stated the usefulness of the intervention in improving patients' knowledge about their condition and self-management. They commented on including patients affected with OA in multiple or different lower limb sites in the intervention. They considered this a positive move, as they viewed self-management techniques as applicable to more than one affected joint in the lower body. Consideration of the practical aspects of the intervention included thoughts on an appropriate facilitator, the need to ensure accessibility to patients and ways to exercise once the intervention had ended.

Conclusion: Healthcare professionals saw the intervention as an acceptable and feasible approach to facilitate the self-management of OA. This study has implications for developing and implementing cost-effective interventions in primary care settings.