Co-Production of a Virtual IA SMP v1

  • Research type

    Research Study

  • Full title

    Co-Production of a Virtual Self-Management Programme for Patients Living with Inflammatory Arthritis

  • IRAS ID

    278552

  • Contact name

    Lyndsay Alexander

  • Contact email

    l.a.alexander@rgu.ac.uk

  • Duration of Study in the UK

    1 years, 0 months, 17 days

  • Research summary

    Co-production of a Virtual Self-Management Programme (SMP) for Inflammatory Arthritic (IA) Conditions

    Epidemiological evidence suggests that the number of patients being diagnosed with IA, such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and spondyloarthropathies (e.g., psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and ankylosing spondylitis (AS)) is becoming increasingly prevalent. Clinical practice guidelines for these conditions emphasise the importance of healthcare practitioners to support these patients in self-managing their condition. SMPs were developed to teach patients self-management strategies and to help improve their confidence in managing their condition independently. IA SMPs to-date have primarily been developed to target RA, while no SMP has yet been developed to target multiple IA conditions. Therefore, the aim of this study is to assess whether it is possible to co-design a virtual SMP for patients living with IA that is feasible to deliver and is acceptable to participants.

    The first phase will develop the SMP using a co-productions method. The SMP will be developed in five workshops via Microsoft Teams during a three-month period. The co-creators will consist of 2-4 patients from each IA population, a Band 7 Specialist Rheumatology Physiotherapist and members of the research team. Patients receiving active treatment from Aberdeen Royal Infirmary (ARI) will be recruited. A focus group will be held following the last workshop to explore the co-creators' experience in the workshops and barriers/facilitators to co-production. Subsequently, the programme will be tested for its feasibility and acceptability among 8-12 participants. Participants receiving active treatment at ARI will be purposefully recruited. The programme will be run over the course of 12 weeks via Microsoft Teams. Feasibility will be determined by assessing the recruitment process and retention, as well as, evaluating the feasibility of the outcome measures. Acceptability will be assessed by attendance rates and interviewing participants about their experience in the programme and data collection procedures.

  • REC name

    East of England - Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Research Ethics Committee

  • REC reference

    20/EE/0267

  • Date of REC Opinion

    18 Dec 2020

  • REC opinion

    Further Information Favourable Opinion