On Arthritis Care & Research, the recently publisched article What Do People With Knee or Hip Osteoarthritis Need to Know? An International Consensus List of Essential Statements for Osteoarthritis.

Summary

Hip and knee osteoarthritis are major causes of chronic musculoskeletal pain and disability worldwide. Osteoarthritis imposes a significant burden on individuals and the community through reductions in quality of life, diminished employment capacity, and substantial health care costs.

Methods. A Delphi survey and priority pairwise ranking activity was conducted. Participants included 51 OA experts from 13 countries and 9 patients (consumers) living with hip and/or knee OA. During 3 Delphi rounds, the panel of experts and consumers rated recommendations extracted from clinical guidelines and provided additional statements they considered important. When 70% of panel members agreed a statement was “essential,” it was retained for the next Delphi round. The final list of essential statements was reviewed by a consumer focus group and statements were modified for clarity if required. Finally, a priority pairwise ranking activity determined the rank order of the list of essential messages.

43 experts and 8 consumers completed the final priority ranking activity. From an original list of 114 statements, 21 statements were rated as essential. Most statements related to nondrug treatment approaches for OA.

OA experts and consumers have identified and prioritized 21 key patient messages about OA. These messages may be used to inform the content of consumer educational materials to ensure patients are educated about the most important aspects of OA and its management.

Authors: Simon D. French, Kim L. Bennell, Philippa J. A. Nicolson, Paul W. Hodges, Fiona L. Dobson, Rana S. Hinman

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