Exploring Impact of Multidisciplinary Care on Patient Activation in Saudi Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients: A Cross-Sectional Survey-Extended Results from the COPARA National Project.

Abstract

Multidisciplinary setting in healthcare provide positive patient outcomes. To evaluate the impact of specialized rheumatology clinics (multidisciplinary settings) on the activation and engagement of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. This cross-sectional survey assessed patient activation using the patient activation measure-13. Participants attending Specialized Rheumatology Clinics (SRC multidisciplinary clinics) were compared with age- and sex-matched patients attending Standard of Care (SOC). The study was observational in nature, assessing several demographic and therapeutic options and their relation to the clinical setting and patient activation. This study included 117 SRC matched RA patients with 117 SOC. The majority of the included patients were female (n=211, 90.2%), >40 years of age (n=177, 75.6%), and had intermediate-to-high education (n=147, 62.8%). Patients in the SRC were also more likely to have activation levels 3 and 4 with an odds ratio of 3.194 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.835-5.562, p<0.001). In addition, SRC participants were more likely to be in levels 3 and 4 activation, even after adjustment for confounding variables, with an adjusted odds ratio of 2.401 (95% CI 1.121-4.758, p=0.012) and 2.175 (95% CI 1.127-4.196, p=0.020), respectively. Establishing SRC for RA patients seems to have a positive impact on patient activation and engagement and adds to the previously explored benefits of multidisciplinary care in chronic disease management.