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

Introduction

Multidisciplinary setting in healthcare provide positive patient outcomes.

Objective

To evaluate the impact of specialized rheumatology clinics (multidisciplinary settings) on the activation and engagement of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients.

Material and Methods

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.

Results

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.

Conclusion

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.

Keywords:

• patient activation
• multidisciplinary care
• rheumatoid arthritis

Data Sharing Statement

The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are not publicly available but are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Ethics Approval

The study protocol was approved by the institutional review board of King Saud University (IRB number: E-19-4364).

Informed Consent

Participants provided electronic consent and agreed to participate voluntarily.

Acknowledgment

The authors would like to thank the Charitable Association for Rheumatic Diseases, patients, and coordinators who helped complete this study. The authors would like to thank Researchers Supporting Project number (RSP2023R209), King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for funding this project.

Disclosure

The authors declare no conflicts of interest in this work.