Community Nonpharmacological Osteoarthritis Care Uneven and Suboptimal

For patients with knee or hip osteoarthritis, the quality of nonpharmacological care in the community is less than optimal. The provision of advice to patients on exercise and weight management may be inequitable between the sexes, among age groups, and at various disability and formal education levels.

Li and colleagues mailed a survey questionnaire to evaluate the following quality-of-care indicators: (1) advice to exercise; (2) advice to lose weight; (3) assessment for ambulatory function; and (4) assessment for nonambulatory function, including dressing, grooming, and arising from sitting to standing. Function was measured with the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) score.

The overall pass rate of the indicators was 22.4%. The pass rate for individual indicators ranged from 6.9% for receiving assessment of nonambulatory function to 29.2% for receiving assessment of ambulatory function. Receiving exercise advice was associated with having a university degree. Receiving weight loss advice was associated with being a woman, being age 55 to 64 years, and having higher WOMAC scores. However, the chances of receiving weight loss advice were reduced with having less than a high school education.

The authors noted that identifying barriers to providing advice on exercise and healthy weight is needed.

Problems with / comments about this article? Please send feedback.