Mental health matters for people with arthritis
May 07, 2025The goal of this research was to gain a deeper understanding of the relationship between arthritis and mental health. Research on this issue is limited, and this was one of the first studies of its kind in Canada. The research aimed to improve awareness of how arthritis affects mental health and how we can improve care for patients.
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Hip Fractures and Rheumatoid Arthritis
Jan 03, 2025People living with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are at a greater risk for hip fractures, but few studies have looked at whether the burden of hip fracture is greater in RA patients than in patients without the disease. This study examined BC’s population group with RA, while also estimating mortality rates and identifying factors that predict the survival of RA patients…
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Patient Decision Aids – Using them to Optimize Early Treatment in those with Rheumatoid Arthritis
Dec 03, 2024In this study, a previously developed and tested decision aid was used to help patients who are newly diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis make decisions about treatments. The focus was on understanding how best to use this tool in the clinic.
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How safe and immunogenic is the Moderna vaccine in people with rheumatic diseases?
Nov 29, 2024This study evaluated the safety and effectiveness of two doses of a mRNA-based SARS-CoV2 vaccine (Moderna) in people with a rheumatic disease. Individuals with diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus have impaired immune responses. Therefore, it was important to determine the effectiveness of this vaccine and whether it can cause a flare up of symptoms.
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Improving Quality of Care for Rheumatoid Arthritis
Oct 25, 2024This research study aimed to monitor and improve the quality of care for patients through the implementation of a balanced scorecard. It was conducted in three phases and identified seven key critical areas essential for providing high-quality care for rheumatoid arthritis.
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Developing a Patient Survey to Measure Quality of Care for Rheumatoid Arthritis
Oct 24, 2024The goal of this survey was to have a standardized way to measure the quality of care of people living with rheumatoid arthritis based on a set of quality measures. The measures used are outlined in a national quality improvement framework for rheumatoid arthritis. This study aimed to create and test a tool that could help health care providers understand…
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Improving strength training in people with rheumatoid arthritis
Aug 19, 2024Strong muscles are important for people with rheumatoid arthritis, but only up to 14 per cent of people with the disease regularly do strength training exercises. The I START (Improving Strength Training and Tailoring among people with Rheumatoid ARThritis) project found many ways to customize physical activity programs for people with arthritis.
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Active self-management of rheumatoid arthritis using a fitness tracker
Aug 10, 2024This project investigated whether an online intervention app can improve a patient’s ability to manage their rheumatoid arthritis. The “On-demand Program to EmpoweR Active Self-management” (OPERAS) links to a Fitbit Flex and combines disease activity monitoring and physical activity counselling.
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How Well Are We Treating Early Rheumatoid Arthritis in Canada?
Jun 24, 2024The Arthritis Alliance of Canada developed a way to test the success of care models, focusing on access to care and early treatment using a set of quality measures. This research investigated if the healthcare system is doing a good job in providing care for people with early rheumatoid arthritis, making sure that they get the necessary treatments quickly.
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Rheumatology Care for Children with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis in Manitoba: A Closer Look at Access and Follow-up
Jun 24, 2024Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) is the most common form of inflammatory arthritis in children. It is important that children get diagnosis and treatment for juvenile idiopathic arthritis as early as possible. The Arthritis Alliance of Canada developed ‘Models of Care for Inflammatory Arthritis’ that use a set of quality measures for inflammatory forms of arthritis. This study looked at two…
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Understanding Rheumatoid Arthritis Care in British Columbia and Alberta
Jun 24, 2024Early and targeted treatment methods for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) can greatly improve patient outcomes. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of RA care in two Canadian provinces, British Columbia and Alberta by looking at four system-level quality measures.
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Rheumatoid arthritis Care for Diverse Populations in Canada – Supporting Changes to Better Reflect Realities
Jun 17, 2021Some healthcare providers and researchers have a limited understanding of the barriers to care that exist for people who are members of populations that experience inequities. We will gather information to understand the rheumatoid arthritis care experience for Black Canadians and Canadians with diversity in sexual orientation, gender identity and expression.
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What is the connection between anxiety and other symptoms in rheumatoid arthritis?
Aug 06, 2020Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have higher levels of anxiety and depression compared to the general population. Depression, in particular, has been linked to increased RA symptoms, such as fatigue, diminished treatment response, and greater disability. Depression and anxiety affect the quality of life for patients living with RA and represent a large gap in patient care...
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Measuring geographic differences in care for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients
Nov 29, 2019Using a patient-centred approach this research measured the geographic variation in access to care for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients.
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Arthritis and Employment: Making it Work (Phase I)
Oct 22, 2019People with inflammatory arthritis commonly have to stop working because of the limitations imposed by their disease. This has a tremendous impact on their quality of life, and financially for themselves, their families and society. This study addresses the development and pilot testing of a self-management program to help people with rheumatoid arthritis stay employed.
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Arthritis and Employment: Making it Work (Phase II)
Oct 22, 2019In response to participant feedback, Phase II sees the creation of a web-based, eLearning version of the Making it Work project. Work loss is a common and early outcome of inflammatory arthritis. This can have a major impact on people’s quality of life, and has a high cost to those affected, their families and society. This novel program is aimed…
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Measuring Different Care Approaches for Rheumatoid Arthritis
Dec 21, 2017With the growing demands due to the insufficient number of rheumatologists – specialist physicians who care for patients with inflammatory arthritis (IA) – the “Model of Care for Inflammatory Arthritis” was developed to promote best practices for early diagnosis and treatment of IA. We developed measures to evaluate the model’s ability to provide access and timely treatment for IA patients.
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Providing appropriate rheumatoid arthritis care to First Nations populations
Mar 17, 2017The occurrence of rheumatoid arthritis in Indigenous populations is three times higher than the general population, and often more severe. This study looked at the delivery of culturally appropriate treatment to help eliminate gaps in health care to meet the needs of Indigenous people.
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Increasing and improving physical activity for patients with inflammatory arthritis
Jan 31, 2017Reasons for inactivity include motivation, exercise doubts, and limited counselling. The OPAM-IA program for improved physical activity combines the Fitbit Flex activity tracker, the new FitViz app, and physical activity counselling to help people with rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus be more physically active, safely and at their own pace.
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Access and Utilization of Healthcare for Rheumatoid Arthritis in Indigenous People in Alberta
Jun 04, 2014This study looked at patterns of healthcare utilization for arthritis care among Indigenous people. It reveals reasons for low specialist care-utilization by Indigenous patients, driven by prior experiences in the healthcare settings.
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Need help making a decision about rheumatoid arthritis treatment? Introducing ANSWER-2!
Nov 11, 2013In this project, we will develop ANSWER-2, a decision aid for people who are considering biologics. Once the tool is developed, we will test whether ANSWER-2 is able to improve people’s experiences of making this treatment decision.
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Arthritis Health Journal: An innovative online self-management tool for Rheumatoid Arthritis patients
Nov 06, 2013People who are actively involved in the management of their chronic disease tend to be more successful in reaching their health goals and have better treatment outcomes. The Arthritis Health Journal was developed to help rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients monitor their symptoms, track their disease activity, and develop action plans with their rheumatologists to better manage RA and improve health…
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One-on-one Education for Family Doctors Improves Care for Rheumatoid Arthritis
Sep 13, 2012This study was designed to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of an educational intervention targeted to family physicians to inform them of the recent changes in the way RA is treated and provide them with tools to help them implement current treatment guidelines.
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Animated, Self-serve, Web-based Research tool (ANSWER): A decision aid for people with early rheumatoid arthritis.
Nov 10, 2010The tool, ANSWER, helps people who are recently diagnosed with RA make informed, timely decisions about using Methotrexate, a disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug used to treat RA.
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