None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
Arthritis is a major cause of illness and disability, particularly among older people. It is estimated that 70% of community dwelling older people experience unrelieved arthritic pain. As with any other chronic conditions, people living with chronic arthritic pain are required to self-manage their condition adopting various pharmacological and non-pharmacological strategies. Therefore, innovative and cost-effective approaches are necessary to build older people’s pain self-management capabilities. One of such approaches is the use of digital technologies such as smartphone apps. In this study we aim to explore the suitability of a pain self-management App in assisting older people living in the community to more effectively manage their arthritic pain. English speaking older people (i.e. those aged 65 years or over); living with arthritis related pain in the community; who use a smartphone or a tablet-computer, will be invited to participate. Interested older people will be asked to sign a written consent form. A meeting (M1) will be organized with consenting participants for App download and study questionnaire completion. With the assistance of one of the researchers, participants will be asked to download the freely available Pain self-management App to their smartphone or tablet, and to complete a questionnaire. Participants will be instructed to use the App for Two weeks, after which another meeting (M2) will be scheduled for completion of the follow-up questionnaire. It is estimated that this meeting will take up to 45 minutes and can be carried out face-to-face or via telephone. Face-to-face meetings will take place at a mutually convenient location. This will be followed by data analysis process and reporting the results. We expect that the results of this study will help develop recommendation for future pain interventions designed to optimise older people’s pain management capabilities in the community
Interventions
Intervention details
The RAISE App has been designed by the collaborative effort of Rheumatology department of St James hospital in Ireland, and Arthritis Ireland for the self-management management of Arthritic pain [53]. The RAISE App features could be broadly classed as encompassing:
• Assessment and documentation: RAISE offers an option to assess pain in a 0-5 Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) and keeps a time-stamped record of the NRS score. This pain intensity scale can be used as frequently as
Intervention details The RAISE App has been designed by the collaborative effort of Rheumatology department of St James hospital in Ireland, and Arthritis Ireland for the self-management management of Arthritic pain [53]. The RAISE App features could be broadly classed as encompassing: • Assessment and documentation: RAISE offers an option to assess pain in a 0-5 Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) and keeps a time-stamped record of the NRS score. This pain intensity scale can be used as frequently as the user desires. Users can also record their activity level on a 0-5 NRS; and Pain self-management education: The RAISE app provides education on a range of different topics relating to pain self-management such as provision of education on pain/pain self-management process, medication use, communication with health professionals and pain related problem solving. Information on fatigue, sleep, and psychological issues management. CBT pain management instruction on relaxation, goal-setting, and activity pacing (20-30 minutes session). Videos of stretching, isotonic and aerobic exercise with warm-up and cool-down stages. Duration and frequency of exercise is also indicated. Intervention delivery: Consenting older participants will be met for a face-to-face session conducted by the PhD student undertaking this study (Ms Bhattarai), who is an experienced clinical trials nurse and a research assistant. This session will be carried out at a mutually convenient location- which includes any one of the following: the university of Notre Dame, participant’s home, or at a local library. The session is estimated to take approximately 45 minutes. The session will be aimed at providing all the relevant intervention details to the participants and also to organise the App download to their device. The baseline (Day 0) data collection will also be carried out during this meeting using a collection of questionnaires. A wireless enabled device will be purchased for the purpose of this trial that will be used for downloading the App to the face-to-face meeting participant’s device. If a face-to-face meeting is not feasible; and the participant is willing and able to use their own wireless or mobile internet for the App download, this session will be carried out over the phone (tele-meeting). During this session participants will be provided a brief training on how to use the intervention App while providing a detailed demonstration of the App features. As the RAISE App features clear menu structure and simplistic user interface, it is expected that the participants will be able to use this app following a brief training. Participants will be advised to use the app however they want throughout the trial period (i.e the use of the app will not be prescribed). In addition, participants will be provided with a contact card with the name and contact number of the research team and instruction to contact if assistance is needed. The contact card will be posted out to those taking part in the tele-meeting. The meeting will then be summarised, and participant will be instructed to use the app for four weeks (Day 1-14). Participants will be contacted again on Day 15 for the follow-up data collection. This data collection session is expected take approximately 30 minutes and will be carried out over the phone or face-to-face whichever is convenient for the participant. Reference: Bhattarai, P., T.R.O. Newton-John, and J.L. Phillips, Quality and Usability of Arthritic Pain Self-Management Apps for Older Adults: A Systematic Review. Pain Medicine, 2017.
Sponsors
Professor Jane L Phillips
Study design
Allocation
Non-randomised trial
Intervention model
Single group
Primary purpose
Treatment
Masking
Open (masking not used)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
65 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
• People aged 65 years or over living in the community, • presence of arthritic pain for 3 or more months, • ability to read and write in English, • ownership of a smartphone/tablet-computer, and • ability to give written informed consent.
Exclusion criteria
Exclusion criteria for older people: • Presence of cancer pain • under end-of-life care pathways, and • people living in institutional homes receiving clinical care from health professionals such as a nurse.
Outcome results
None listed