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RA patients help develop future Internet tool to support physical activity

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Study results involving input from patients with rheumatoid arthritis on development of an Internet-based physical activity intervention were presented at the annual congress of the European League Against Rheumatism in Madrid.

“Despite growing evidence for the benefits of physical activity [PA] in (rheumatoid arthritis), the majority of patients do not exercise sufficiently,” researcher Åsa Revenäs of the Department of Neurobiology, Health Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, said in a press release. “Our assumption is that developing intervention strategies based on health behavior changes theories, making them available over the Internet and involving users may facilitate the adoption and maintenance of PA behavior.”

Researchers formed six focus groups from 26 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). An interview guide was used to assess the critical aspects participants believed would promote adopting and maintaining health-enhancing physical activity (HEPA) and those ideas that could constitute the most important content for a future Internet-based HEPA intervention (IHI).

Participants identified personal incentives, personal mastering, information adapted to the RA condition, peer support, professional coaching, physical environment and resources, and societal support as critical for HEPA adoption and maintenance. Up-to-date and evidence-based information and instructions, self-regulation tools, chat groups, customization tools, the interface and IHI access were listed as functionalities necessary for a successful website product.

“This is … the first study involving individuals with RA in the development of an Internet-based HEPA intervention,” the researchers concluded. “By applying a participatory design, we acknowledge patients’ experiences and innovations as valid knowledge. As a consequence, the future IHI may fit users’ needs and improve the possibility for a successful implementation.”

For more information:

Revenäs Å. OP0022-HPR: Developing an Intervention on the Internet for Health Enhancing Physical Activity Behavior in Individuals with Rheumatoid Arthritis: Patients’ Experiences and Innovations. Presented at: EULAR 2013; June 12-15, Madrid.