Participants' perspectives of a 'Lifestyle Management for Arthritis Programme': experiences and implications for practice

Background: The purpose of this study was to explore participants’ perspectives of the ‘Lifestyle Management for Arthritis Programme’ (LMAP) (Hammond, Hardy & Bryan, 2008) following their attendance at module A of the... [ view full abstract ]

Background:
The purpose of this study was to explore participants’ perspectives of the ‘Lifestyle Management for Arthritis Programme’ (LMAP) (Hammond, Hardy & Bryan, 2008) following their attendance at module A of the programme in an occupational therapy department in the south eastern region of Ireland. There has been limited qualitative investigation into participants' experience of the programme. Participants’ perspectives of self-management programmes can assist in ascertaining patient-relevant outcomes from programmes and assist in programme development (Hammond et al., 2008).
Method:
A qualitative study was conducted to explore participants’ perspectives of the LMAP. Semi-structured interviews were completed with participants following attendance at the programme. Data was analysed using thematic analysis. The researcher also acted as a participant-observer in two of the group sessions and field notes were taken from observations.
Results:
Five women, aged 42-59 years old with rheumatoid or psoriatic arthritis were interviewed. Four inter-relating main themes and sub-themes evolved from the individual interviews. Theme 1: Adjusting to living with arthritis (sub-themes: nature of arthritis; occupational impact; stages of acceptance); Theme 2: Participatory learning (sub-themes: educative approaches; peer learning; group dynamics); Theme 3: Format and design (sub-themes: content; attendance; gaps, including communication, refresher session, and literacy screening); Theme 4: Becoming a self-manager (sub-themes: occupational adaptation; change process, including enablers and barriers).
Conclusion:
The LMAP was generally well received by participants. Considerations for future LMAP facilitation have been identified, such as incorporation of pre-programme interviews, content to address the psychological impact of arthritis, family involvement, refresher session and occupation-focused goal setting.