EFFECTIVENESS OF A SELF-MANAGEMENT SUPPORT INTERVENTION ON KNEE FUNCTIONAL STATUS AND HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE AMONG MIDDLE-AGED WOMEN WITH KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIS: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL

Abstract

Knee osteoarthritis [OA] is a chronic disease characterized by joint narrowing leading to joint pain, stiffness and swelling. It influences a person’s ability to perform activities of daily living. For women, the prevalence rate of knee OA rises dramatically post-menopause due to lower estrogen levels. This randomized controlled trial study aimed to determine the effectiveness of a self-management support intervention on knee functional status and Health-Related Quality of Life [HRQOL]. The participants were 40 middle-aged women who had been clinically diagnosed with knee OA at least three months before.

They were randomly assigned into intervention and control groups, with 20 participants per group. After IRB approval (code 02-05-2562) was obtained, data collection was carried out from July to November 2019. The Modified Thai version of WOMAC and the SF-36 were used to measure knee functional status and HRQOL at pre-intervention, post-intervention and follow-up. Participants in the intervention group received a self-management support program developed by the researcher based on the Individual and Family Self-Management Theory. The implementation consisted of eight sessions over four weeks. Descriptive statistics, independent t-tests and two-way repeated measure ANOVA were used to analyze the data.

The results revealed that participants in the intervention group had better knee functional status and HRQOL than those in the control group at follow-up (F1, 34 = 19.28, p < 0.05, F1, 34 = 90.86, p < 0.05, respectively). In addition, within the intervention group, both knee functional status and HRQOL significantly improved from pre-to post-intervention. Thus the findings indicate this self-management support intervention is effective. Policy makers and health care providers who are responsible for the health of middle-aged women could obtain and promote this intervention as part of standard practice. This should lead to improved knee functional status and HRQOL among middle-aged women.

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