Preliminary Efficacy of a Self-Management Programme to Improve Quality-of-Life in Patients With Obesity and Osteoarthritis Awaiting Arthroplasty: A Randomised Trial.
Ladan Sahafi, David Smith, Ruurd Jaarsma and 1 others
PMID 40836835WHAT IT FOUND
Nurse-led self-management support improved mental health, coping and social functioning in obese patients waiting for joint replacement.
Physical pain and overall quality of life scores did not differ from usual care. The intervention was feasible and delivered mostly by phone.
Key findings
01The intervention group showed greater improvement in disease-specific mental health and social activity scores compared with usual care, while physical pain and overall physical quality of life scores showed no significant difference.
02Participants receiving the intervention significantly improved their waist-to-height ratio and self-management coping skills compared with the control group, but body mass index and overall self-management scores did not differ.
03The nurse-led programme was feasible, with over 97% of participants providing follow-up data, and most contacts were conducted by phone rather than in person.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study was a pilot with a small sample size (95 participants), limiting the certainty of efficacy findings. Participants were recruited from a single hospital, restricting generalisability. The population had severe osteoarthritis awaiting surgery, so results may not apply to earlier-stage disease. Patients knew which group they were in (unblinded), which may have influenced self-reported outcomes. The ten-month follow-up period may have been too short to detect changes in generic quality of life measures.
Declared interests
One author (Professor Malcolm Battersby) is the lead developer of the Flinders Program intervention being tested.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the lack of effect on pain or physical function as evidence that the intervention fails; the study was underpowered and focused on preliminary efficacy. The improvements in mental health and coping are promising but require confirmation in a larger trial.