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Posted on 05.09.01
Multimedia, Tailored Arthritis Education: Matching Information to Individual Needs
By Jeffrey M. Bellis, PhD, Richard Maisiak, PhD, MSPH, and Kenneth G. Saag, MD, MSc
Improvements in medical therapies have continued to improve quality of life for many people with arthritis over recent years. Behavioral scientists are well aware, however, that there is more to managing a chronic condition like arthritis than just medicine.
Quality of life can be affected in many ways by the day-to-day activities of a person with a chronic illness. Researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) have shown that people with rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, and systemic lupus erythematosus can benefit from telephone counseling focused on behavioral aspects of living with these chronic conditions. The results of several studies of this counseling approach include improvements in physical functioning, psychological functioning, and health status.*
To build upon this successful approach, a team of UAB researchers is taking advantage of new computer technology that allows adaptation of telephone counseling protocols to an automated, multimedia format. This new format can be delivered by computers, either through a CD-ROM or the Internet.
This interactive program, which is in development, will ask the person to provide specific information about behaviors, attitudes, and intentions. The program then will analyze the information to determine which feedback, focused on education and behavioral changes, may be most relevant and useful.
Similar to the telephone protocols, the "tailored" program will focus on interactions with the healthcare system, such as communicating with caregivers and sticking to a drug regimen, and self-management behaviors, such as monitoring symptoms and managing stress management.
Taking advantage of the multimedia capacity of today's computers, the program "speaks" all of the information provided to program users, in addition to appearing as text on the screen. This makes this approach highly accessible for people who may have difficulty reading.
With the explosion of medical information available through various sources, including the Internet, programs such as this one being developed at UAB will serve a vital role in helping people focus on and find the information most relevant and useful to them. This will allow them to take greater control of their conditions, their behavior, and their lives. That these programs can be distributed over the Internet will allow access by large numbers of people coping with arthritis and related conditions, which could affect public health significantly.
*References
- Maisiak R, Austin J, Heck L. Health outcomes of two telephone interventions for patients with rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis. Arthritis Rheum 1996;39:1391-9.
- Maisiak R, Austin JS, West SG, Heck L. The effect of person-centered counseling on the psychological status of persons with systemic lupus erythematosus or rheumatoid arthritis: a randomized, controlled trial. Arthritis Care Res 1996;9:60-6.
- Austin JS, Maisiak RS, Macrina DM, Heck LW. Health outcome improvements in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus using two telephone counseling interventions. Arthritis Care Res 1996;9:391-9.