Donate Now
  • Research Completed
Active self-management of rheumatoid arthritis using a fitness tracker
arc_placeholder_new
Scientific Study Title:
Empowering active self-management of arthritis: Raising the bar with OPERAS (an On-demand Program to EmpoweR Active Self-management)
Start Date:
  • February 2019
End Date:
  • February 2022
Research Category
Tags
iAPIwJt8fXo1AW_OpaKC-A44VD9vdC8pB_T175A3qyo
Linda Li
Senior Scientist, Implementation Science, BSc(PT), MSc, PhD, FCAHS
Diane Lacaille-Website Headshot-400x400
Diane Lacaille
MDCM, MHSc, FRCPC, Scientific Director, Rheumatology
7fVkTRTuX6B8N-CGL1vUPIxh2G5yG7LcGTDHIVUdfa4
Catherine Backman
Senior Scientist Emeritus, Rehabilitation, PhD, FCAOT
HXXq7aA4SujuaGgxS9en5va-87Xwgz2FT5lfUcngW_o
John Esdaile
Scientific Director Emeritus, MD, MPH, FRCPC, FCAHS, MACR
vxEuJYtm6XTOQMOuMHXzykwHmOBgoMi1Myoi13chK-Y
Alison Hoens
Knowledge Broker, MSc, BScPT

Why do this research?

Reason For Research

This project builds on a ten-year partnership between researchers, patients, and clinicians to improve the health of people with rheumatoid arthritis. We wanted to see whether we could improve active self-management among people living with rheumatoid arthritis with an online intervention. This included remote counselling from a physiotherapist and the use of an app called OPERAS (On-demand Program to EmpoweR Active Self-management).

Self-management is the ability to manage symptoms and treatments related to living with a chronic disease such as rheumatoid arthritis. It includes some of the following:

  • Balancing activities such as sleeping, resting, and being physically active,
  • Knowing when it is time to seek help from a healthcare provider, and
  • Practicing self-care.

Methodology

Execution of Research

We divided participants into two groups. One group received the intervention right away, and one group received it after a 27-week delay. The intervention had three components:

  1. A two-hour session that included group education about physical activity and individual counselling with a physiotherapist,
  2. The use of a Fitbit wearable activity tracker and access to a monitoring app (OPERAS) designed for people with rheumatoid arthritis, and
  3. Six counselling phone calls (15-30 minutes each) with a physiotherapist.

During the study, participants used the OPERAS app, which was developed with input from patient partners and is available on both the web and mobile devices. Using the app, participants monitored and recorded their self-management, disease activity, symptoms, and treatment/medication use. The app was also paired with the Fitbit so that participants could see their physical activity levels. Using the app dashboard, participants could see their disease activity scores, symptom ratings, and physical activity levels, and could share this information with their healthcare providers.

To explore the impact of the intervention, we measured participants’ physical activity and inactive time with a small research-grade wearable device called SenseWear Mini. We also looked at participants’ self-management ability; their disease status, including pain, mood, and fatigue; and their self-reported habits (e.g., time spent sitting while awake at home, time spent walking outside), measured through various questionnaires.

Who is involved?

Involvement

Complete an online screening questionnaire and a member of the research team will contact you shortly.

Findings & Next Steps

131 people participated in this study, of whom 80% participated during the COVID-19 pandemic. The group that got the intervention right away had a bigger improvement in their ability to self-manage their condition compared to the delayed group. The OPERAS intervention also helped with disease activity, fatigue, depression, and self-reported walking habits.

This research is important because it shows that providing people with rheumatoid arthritis access to physiotherapist counselling paired with self-monitoring tools, like an online app and wearable activity tracking device, can help them to better manage their arthritis and to be more active. In addition, having access to this type of program can also help with managing rheumatoid arthritis disease activity, fatigue, and depression.

Related Publications

  • Li, L. C., Xie, H., Feehan, L. M., Shaw, C., Lu, N., Ramachandran, S., Wang, E., Therrien, S., Mucha, J., Hoens, A. M., English, K., Davidson, E., Liu-Ambrose, T., Backman, C. L., Esdaile, J. M., Miller, K. J., & Lacaille, D. (2023). Effect of digital monitoring and counselling on self-management ability in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a randomised controlled trial.Rheumatology (Oxford, England), kead709. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1093/rheumatology/kead709
  • Tam, J., Lacaille, D., Liu-Ambrose, T., Shaw, C., Xie, H., Backman, C. L., Esdaile, J. M., Miller, K., Petrella, R., & Li, L. C. (2019). Effectiveness of an online self-management tool, OPERAS (an On-demand Program to EmpoweR Active Self-management), for people with rheumatoid arthritis: a research protocol.Trials, 20(1), 712. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-019-3851-0
  • Leese, J., Backman, C. L., Ma, J. K., Koehn, C., Hoens, A. M., English, K., Davidson, E., McQuitty, S., Gavin, J., Adams, J., Therrien, S., & Li, L. C. (2022). Experiences of self-care during the COVID-19 pandemic among individuals with rheumatoid arthritis: A qualitative study. Health expectations: an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy, 25(2), 482–498. https://doi.org/10.1111/hex.13341
  • Leese, J., Therrien, S., Ramachandran, S., Backman, C. L., Ma, J. K., Koehn, C. L., Hoens, A. M., English, K., Davidson, E., McQuitty, S., Gavin, J., Adams, J., & Li, L. C. (2024). Decision-Making Around COVID-19 Public Health Measures and Implications for Self-Care Activities: Experiences of Persons With Rheumatoid Arthritis. Arthritis care & research, 76(1), 140–152. https://doi.org/10.1002/acr.25262
  • Feehan, L., Xie, H., Lu, N., & Li, L. C. (2024). Twenty-four hour physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep profiles in adults living with rheumatoid arthritis: a cross-sectional latent class analysis. JASSB 3, 10. https://doi.org/10.1186/s44167-024-00049-5

External Partners & Contacts

Charles Goldsmith, MSc, PhD, Professor, Biostatistics, Simon Fraser University

Alison Hoens, PT, Knowledge Broker, Arthritis Research Canada – University of British Columbia

Cheryl Koehn, President, Arthritis Consumer Experts

Related Research

Connecting Voices-PLS-715 x 405

Connecting Voices for Equitable Rheumatoid Arthritis Care Access

Read More
New Model of At-Home Follow-Up Care_PLS

A New Model of At-Home Follow-Up Care for Rheumatoid Arthritis

Read More
Kinesiologists-and-Exercise-Physiologists-PLS-Feature-Image-425x296-1

Preparing kinesiologists and exercise physiologists: what does this mean for arthritis care?

Read More
Research-Stream-AI-Study_425x296

Using Artificial Intelligence to Streamline Research on Rheumatoid Arthritis Treatments

Read More
2026-Studies-to-Watch-Decision-Aid

Evaluating a Decision Aid for Tapering Biologic Medications in Rheumatoid Arthritis

Read More
VIVA-Study-PLS-image

Virtual Intervention for Vertebral frActure (VIVA): A rehab program for better recovery after spine fractures

Read More