Donate Now
  • What We're Working On
Evaluating a Decision Aid for Tapering Biologic Medications in Rheumatoid Arthritis
Voir en français
2026-Studies-to-Watch-Decision-Aid
Scientific Study Title:
A randomized trial of a Decision-Aid for Tapering Advanced therapy in Rheumatoid Arthritis (DATA-RA)
Start Date:
  • 2025
End Date:
  • 2029
Research Category
Tags

Why do this research?

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic condition that can vary greatly from person to person, so treatment needs to be personalized. Some patients may be doing well on their medications, and for these individuals, reducing medication doses (called ‘tapering’) could be a safe and beneficial option. However, these decisions aren’t always straightforward, but tools like decision-aids can help.

The goal of this study is to provide a way to help patients and doctors engage in shared decision-making for managing rheumatoid arthritis. By making sure patients understand the risks and benefits of tapering their medications, this research will support a more patient-centered approach, where patients can make decisions together with their doctors, and decisions can align with the patient’s values, preferences, and quality of life.

What will be done?

This study will evaluate the impact of a decision aid tool designed to help people with rheumatoid arthritis and their healthcare providers make informed decisions about tapering their medication.

People with rheumatoid arthritis who are currently taking biologic or targeted synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs and are doing well on their medication will be invited to participate. Participants will be divided into two groups: one group will receive the decision aid, and the other will not. The goal will be to see if the tool helps people talk more with their doctors about tapering their medications and whether it leads to better decisions about treatment. The research team will follow participants for 1 year to see how these decisions affect their health and overall care.

The Research Team

Principal Investigators

  • Glen Hazlewood, MD, PhD, FRCPC, Research Scientist, Arthritis Research Canada (University of Calgary)
  • George Wells, MSc, PhD, (University of Ottawa)

Co-investigators

  • Jillian Banfield, PhD, (CIHR Institute of Genetics)
  • Nick Bansback, MSc, PhD, Research Scientist, Arthritis Research Canada (University of British Columbia)
  • Claire Barber, MD, PhD, FRCPC, Research Scientist, Arthritis Research Canada (University of Calgary)
  • Cheryl Barnab e, MD, MSc, FRCPC, Senior Scientist, Arthritis Research Canada (University of Calgary)
  • Alexandra Charlton, BSc Pharm, Pharm D, (University of Calgary)
  • Inés Colmegna, MD, Research Scientist, Arthritis Research Canada (McGill University)
  • Mohammed Mujab Kamso, PhD, (University of Ottawa)
  • Steven Katz, MD, (University of Alberta)
  • Diane Lacaille, (https://arthritisresearch.ca/diane-lacaille/) MDCM, MHSc, FRCPC, Scientific Director, Arthritis Research Canada (University of British Columbia)
  • Janet E Pope, MD, MPH, FRCPC, (Western University)
  • Laurie Proulx (Canadian Arthritis Patient Alliance)
  • Tolulope Sajobi, PhD, (University of Calgary)

Who Funded This Research?

Canadian Institutes of Health Research

How Can People Get Involved?

The team includes rheumatologists, researchers and patients from across Canada, in multiple provinces.

Nominated Principal Applicant: Hazlewood, Glen

Principal Applicants: Wells, George

Co-applicants: Banfield, Jillian; Bansback, Nick; Barber, Claire; Barnabe, Cheryl; Charlton, Alex; Colmegna, Ines; Kamso, Mohammed; Katz, Steven; Lacaille, Diane; Pope, Janet; Proulx, Laurie; Sajobi, Tolu

Media and Infographics

Related Research

What We're Working On Right Now

Exploring a New Immune Cell Therapy for People with Autoimmune Diseases

Systemic sclerosis and systemic lupus erythematosus are serious autoimmune diseases that can cause damage to many organs including the skin, lungs and kidneys. In this project, we will study a new type of treatment that may better control these diseases by targeting the immune cells that cause them. If successful, it could reduce inflammation, slow or stop disease progression, and may even help reset the immune system, so that some patients no longer need long-term immune-suppressing medications.
Read More

Understanding how scleroderma affects people over time

People living with scleroderma experience challenges such as pain, disability, and mental health concerns, but we still don’t know much about how these problems change over time or why some people do better than others. For this research project, our goal is to improve our understanding of how scleroderma affects people’s daily lives and identify factors that may predict changes in their health.
Read More

How can we help Canadians age at home to improve health outcomes and support a sustainable healthcare system?

As Canada’s population ages, home care is important for helping older adults remain safely within their homes. Our research team is linking data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging with health records in British Columbia, Ontario, and New Brunswick, to track patterns of paid and unpaid home care use over time.
Read More