Training video created for rheumatoid arthritis research gains unexpected wider audience
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Key takeaways:
- Researchers created a video to train patients on how to self-evaluate for tender and swollen joints.
- The video has been well-received by patients and clinicians, “with much wider-reaching international impact than anticipated.”
An open-access training video originally produced for a study into remote monitoring among patients with rheumatoid arthritis unexpectedly attracted more than 40,000 views within 10 months, alongside positive reviews, according to data.
The researchers concluded that these events suggest a wide demand for open-access training resources in rheumatology, and that such tools may positively impact self-management among patients.
“RA is an example of a long-term condition with increasing reliance upon self-examination,” Charlotte A. Sharp, MD, of the University of Manchester, in the United Kingdom, and colleagues wrote in Rheumatology Advances in Practice. “In RA, tender and swollen joint counts (JCs) are key measures of disease activity included in the most widely used disease activity measure, the DAS28 score, which drives clinical decision-making and access to advanced therapy.”
To improve resources for patients, Sharp and colleagues produced and publicly posted a video to train patients with RA on how to effectively self-evaluate for tender and swollen joints. Production of the video was informed and supported by patient participants. After the initial draft of the script was written, a patient-focused group provided input on the concept until the script was complete.
After viewing the first draft of the film, patient participants were concerned they could not reliably locate the joints for evaluation, according to the researchers. The producers then created images to address these concerns and offer more accurate assistance in locating the joints in question. The result was a 15-minute video, which was published alongside reference materials on YouTube. In addition to the video, Sharp and colleagues created a survey to collect feedback from patients and physicians who viewed and used the video.
Within 1 week after publication, the video was viewed 1,000 times, according to the researchers. At 10 months, the video had been viewed more than 40,000 times. The countries supplying the majority of the views were India, the United States, and the United Kingdom. In addition, age and genders of viewers appeared to “broadly correspond” to those found in patients with RA, according to the researchers.
Additionally, Sharp and colleagues received 48 survey responses, including 26 from patients and 22 from physicians. Following the video, patients reported that they saw an improvement in their skills regarding self-evaluation of tender and swollen joints. In addition, 86% of patients, and 71% of clinicians, said they would recommend the video.
“This co-produced, open-access training video for people with RA has been well received, with much wider-reaching international impact than anticipated, demonstrating the need for materials co-produced with patients to support patient self-examination of long-term conditions, in the digital era,” Sharp and colleagues wrote. “This might then have a beneficial effect upon patients’ understanding of disease activity, with the potential to influence their self-management, to positively inform consultations and improve the ability of patients to engage in shared decision-making conversations.”
Perspective
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The self-examination of joints in patients with rheumatoid arthritis has become an important part of self-care and management. Patients knowing about their disease activity and being involved in their care is a huge component overall. Adding COVID-19 to the picture has limited in-person visits and increased virtual and telephone visits. So, where does that leave our patients who may be going into a flare, but are dependent on their provider to recognize the early physical signs before it is too far gone?
A video was developed through the REMORA study, due to not having anything publicly available to train people with RA on how to self-examine for tender and swollen joints. This video was posted on YouTube in February 2021 and received more than 40,000 hits within 10 months, with patients reporting an improved ability to self-examine after watching the video.
A mantra of sorts that I learned early on in my nursing career is, “Patients know their body the best — and if they don’t, then the person who stays with them or cares for them does.” I still use this, share this, and believe this to this day. Educating on disease processes, in combination with teaching and incorporating specific self-care assessments, for our RA patients is so important. It can help our patients be more “in-tune” with their body and disease process when they feel something may be off, which in turn can promote early intervention of impending flares and better management of overall disease activity.
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