Arthritis Patient Education for Urban African Americans

June 8, 2013 updated by: Larry Gruppen, University of Michigan

Evaluating/Reinforcing Arthritis Patient Education for Urban African Americans

Research has shown that people with arthritis can improve their ability to cope with arthritis pain with the help of patient education programs, which teach people things they can do to help manage their disease. However, we do not know much about the effects of arthritis patient education programs on minorities, such as urban African Americans.

We will gather participants for this project through a faith-based community network. The project is made up of four studies that will provide information about culturally relevant ways of reaching urban African Americans with arthritis and providing patient education that addresses arthritis care needs of the African American community. This project will also provide information on the effectiveness of an arthritis self-help course for urban African Americans. We hope to better understand the differences among cultural groups and how these differences should affect the design of culturally appropriate patient education.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Clinical studies have shown that arthritis patient education interventions are an effective addition to medical treatment in improving patients' ability to cope with pain, thereby reducing perceived symptom severity, improving patients' ability to help themselves, and providing them with skills and strategies for dealing with limits on daily activities. We know little, however, about generalizing the effects of such programs to cultural minority groups, such as urban African Americans. We know even less about the longevity of any benefits of patient education or about effective reinforcement and maintenance techniques. To examine these issues, we will recruit participants for this project through a faith-based community network to pursue the following aims:

  1. Evaluate the impact of arthritis patient education on arthritis symptoms and pain levels, functional status, self-care knowledge and behaviors, self-efficacy, emotional status, and health care resource use through a randomized controlled trial (Study 1).
  2. Test the impact of focused reinforcement of the concepts in the Arthritis Self-Help Course (ASHC) over a 12-month period through a randomized controlled trial (Study 2).
  3. Examine the detailed educational dynamics of the ASHC, identify aspects of the course that are less effective with or relevant to African Americans, and identify modes of communication and presentation used in the course that require adaptation for an African American audience (Study 3).
  4. Assess the personal and cultural belief systems underlying African Americans' understanding of arthritis and their use of conventional and unconventional arthritis treatments (Study 4).

These studies will provide valuable information regarding culturally relevant methods of reaching urban African Americans with arthritis and providing patient education that addresses arthritis care needs of the African American community. This study will also clarify the longevity of educational benefits and the effectiveness of alternative methods of educational reinforcement in this population. The exploratory studies of individual beliefs and knowledge of arthritis and its treatment, and the formal evaluation of a patient education program, will provide a better understanding of the ways in which cultural groups differ and how these differences should influence the design and delivery of culturally appropriate patient education.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

90

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Michigan
      • Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States, 49109-0201
        • University of Michigan

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Urban African Americans with arthritis
  • 18 years or older

Exclusion Criteria:

  • None

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: 1
Education in Arthritis Self-Help Course
Behavioral: Patient self-care education

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Knowledge of arthritis self-care behaviors
Time Frame: Measured upon completion of the educational intervention and at 6-month follow-up
Measured upon completion of the educational intervention and at 6-month follow-up

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

University of Michigan

Collaborators

National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS)

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Larry D. Gruppen, PhD, University of Michigan

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

September 1, 1997

Primary Completion (Actual)

March 1, 2001

Study Completion (Actual)

October 1, 2002

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

November 3, 1999

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 3, 1999

First Posted (Estimate)

November 4, 1999

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

June 11, 2013

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 8, 2013

Last Verified

June 1, 2013

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • P60AR020557 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)
  • NIAMS-016

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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