Understanding the Care of People with Rheumatoid Arthritis

Scientific Study Title:

Rheumatoid Arthritis in Canadian Primary Care Settings: Epidemiology, Management of Care and Patient Experience

Study Start Date:

January 1, 2021

End Date:

December 31, 2023

Why Do This Research?

Family physicians play a key role in the management of rheumatoid arthritis and are often the patient’s first contact with the healthcare system. The management of rheumatoid arthritis by family physicians across the provinces in Canada is not known.

This research will have two results. A short-term one will be a national description of healthcare provided by physicians. The long-term one will be the identification of any gaps in primary care and providing direction to address these gaps.

What Will Be Done?

We will use data from a Canadian national surveillance network that collects information from family physicians in communities to determine the number of people who see family physicians for rheumatoid arthritis and the type of treatment they receive both before and after a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis.  We will interview people with this type of arthritis to understand their views on managing their condition and navigating the healthcare system. We will interview family physicians and rheumatologists to learn about their experiences diagnosing and supporting patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Who Is Involved? 

This interdisciplinary team of 14 members will use primary care data from a national surveillance network to look at persons with rheumatoid arthritis (40 to 50 patients with rheumatoid arthritis from BC, AB, ON, QC and NS will be interviewed about their experiences living with this type of arthritis and accessing care).

Research Team

Principal Investigator:

Allyson Jones, PT, PhD, Affiliate Scientist, Rehabilitation Sciences, Arthritis Research Canada (University of Alberta)

Co-Principal Investigator:

Neil Drummond, Professor and University Research Chair in Primary Care, Department of Family Medicine, (University of Alberta)

Co-Investigators: 

Claire Barber, MD, PhD, FRCPC, Research Scientist, Rheumatology, Arthritis Research Canada (University of Calgary)

Cheryl Barnabe, MD, MSc, FRCPC, Senior Scientist, Rheumatology, Arthritis Research Canada (University of Calgary)

Scott Garrison, Associate Professor, Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, (University of Alberta)

Doug Klein, Professor, Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, (University of Alberta)

Cliff Lindeman, SPOR Primary & Integrated, Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, (University of Alberta)

Jessica Widdifield, Assistant Professor, Institute of Health Policy, Management & Evaluation, (University of Toronto)

Tyler Williamson, Associate Professor of Biostatistics, Department of Community Health Sciences, Associate Director, Centre for Health Informatics, Cumming School of Medicine, (University of Calgary)

Funding Agency:

The Arthritis Society