Osteoarthritis, Knee
Conditions
Keywords
Osteoarthritis, Knee, Education, Decision aid, Beliefs
Brief summary
The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of educational information, with and without a general practitioner recommendation to exercise, on willingness to undertake exercise/physical activity for knee osteoarthritis. Eligible participants will be aged 45+ years and will not currently have osteoarthritis, knee pain, or any condition that makes them unable to exercise. Participants will be asked to complete an online survey, during which they will be randomised to one of three groups and shown different types of educational information to read. Outcome measures will be collected as part of the survey before and after participants read the educational information presented to them.
Detailed description
3-arm superiority online randomised controlled trial (delivered within one survey). Participants will complete an online survey, during which they will be presented with a hypothetical scenario asking them to imagine that they had recently developed knee pain and have gone to see their general practitioner. Participants will then be randomised to one of 3 different groups (described below). Each group will be shown different types of educational material and asked to read the information carefully. Once they have finished reading the material, they will be asked to complete follow-up outcome measures to determine whether their beliefs about osteoarthritis management strategies have changed. The 3 trial groups are: I. Control group: asked to read a single-A4 page of brief osteoarthritis information (what is osteoarthritis); II. Treatment options group: asked to read brief osteoarthritis information + two A4 pages of information on treatment options (osteoarthritis treatment options), and; III. Treatment options + recommendation group: asked to read brief osteoarthritis information + information on treatment options + receive a hypothetical GP recommendation for exercise
Interventions
OTHERInformation on treatment options
Asked to read two A4 pages of information on treatment options (osteoarthritis treatment options)
OTHERRecommendation from general practitioner
Receive a hypothetical general practitioner recommendation for exercise
OTHERInformation on osteoarthritis
Asked to read 1 A4 page of brief information on osteoarthritis
Sponsors
University of Melbourne
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
DOUBLE (Subject, Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
45 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Aged 45+ years
Exclusion criteria
* Been told by a health professional that they have osteoarthritis in any joint/anywhere in the body * Have experienced any knee pain in the prior 3 months * Unable to read English * Have had a joint replacement in any knee or hip joint * Have any health condition that makes unable to exercise
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Belief that an exercise or physical activity program is the most appropriate management option for their knee | Immediately after reading educational information in survey | Measured on an 11-point scale (0 = strongly disagree 10 = strongly agree) |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Belief surgery, weight loss, x-rays, injections and medications are the most appropriate management options for their knee | Immediately after reading educational information in survey | Measured on an 11-point scale (0 = strongly disagree 10 = strongly agree) |
| Belief about the effectiveness of surgery, weight loss, x-rays, injections and medications for people with knee osteoarthritis | Immediately after reading educational information in survey | Measured on an 11-point scale (0 = strongly disagree 10 = strongly agree) |
| Intentions to request a referral to an orthopedic surgeon, physiotherapist, and dietitian or to request prescription for medications, an injection, and an x-ray for their knee | Immediately after reading educational information in survey | Measured on an 11-point scale (0 = definitely would not 10 = definitely would) |
Countries
Australia
Outcome results
None listed