AB1271 PATIENT EDUCATION IN PSORIATIC ARTHRITIS: A SERVICE EVALUATION AT ONE YEAR

Background:Recent studies have demonstrated an increasing burden of musculoskeletal (MSK) diseases worldwide.1The importance of patient education (PE) is often overlooked in the management of long term inflammatory conditions. The European League Against Rheumatism recommends that PE should be integral to standard of care in inflammatory arthritis.2PE increases patients’ knowledge, skills and confidence in managing their condition and improves patient activation (PA). Evidence shows that improved PA results in better outcomes and improved experiences of care. We previously reported on improved knowledge and confidence amongst a small patient group with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) who had attended a pilot education session.3This education session was delivered to a wider group of patients with PsA over a 12 month period; we report on the evaluation received from this service.Objectives:To provide a PE programme to a wider group of patients with PsA, using a multi-disciplinary team (MDT) approach and to evaluate whether this improved patients’ knowledge, skills and confidence in managing their PsA.Methods:Adult patients with PsA attending their rheumatology clinic appointments were invited to a 2.5 hour MDT education session which covered: 1) a general overview of PsA; 2) medications used in PsA; 3) the role of physiotherapy and occupational therapy; 4) flares and self- management. These were interactive sessions, held in a small group setting to allow for informal discussion and questions to the MDT. Written materials including several booklets and online resources were also provided. Patients evaluated their knowledge or understanding before and after each topic covered, on the same day, using an evaluation tool with1-10 Likert scale items. Changes in ratings were analysed using student’s t-tests. Patients were also asked: which aspects they found particularly helpful; if there was anything they would like to have added/ have more of in the session; whether they found the session helpful; whether they would recommend it to other patients; whether they would be interested in developing a PsA patient support group.Results:Four sessions were held over a 12 month period. A total of 32 patients attended; 10 males and 22 females, across a range of age categories. Disease duration varied from less than1 year to over 10 years. There were statistically significant improvements in all topics covered: mean improvement of 91% in how well informed patients felt about PsA overall (p<0.0001); mean improvement of 74% in confidence in accessing help from the MDT (p<0.0001); mean improvement of 122% in how well informed patients were about medications used in PsA (p<0.0001); mean improvement of 99% in patients’ confidence in self-managing a flare (p<0.0001). Aspects that patients found particularly helpful included “The whole session”, “Asking questions to all different professionals”, “Meeting other sufferers”, “Management of flares”, “Fatigue information” and “Online resources”. Overall, 97% of patients (31 out of 32) found the session helpful and would recommend it to others. Over 40% of patients expressed interest in developing a local PsA support group.Conclusion:Following a 2.5 hour education session, improved knowledge, skills and confidence in managing their PsA was reported by 97% of patients, including patients with disease duration of > 10 years. This supports our previous finding that an interactive, group PsA education programme is a feasible and important adjunct to patient care.References:[1]Sebbag E, Felten R, Sagez F, et al. The world-wide burden of musculoskeletal diseases: a systematic analysis of the World Health Organization Burden of Diseases Database. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases 2019;78:844-848.[2]Zangi HA, Ndosi M, Adams J, et al. EULAR recommendations for patient education for people with inflammatory arthritis. Ann Rheum Dis. 2015;74(6):954-62[3]Austin K, Jones N, Prasad R. Patient Education in psoriatic arthritis: addressing an unmet need. Ann Rheum Dis. 2019;78(suppl 2):A2134.Disclosure of Interests:Keziah Austin: None declared, Roopa Prasad Speakers bureau: Received speaker fees for Celgene, honorarium from Merck, advisory board fees from Bristol-Myers Squibb; all unrelated to the contents of this abstract.