Article

PURPOSE: To understand whether a visit to a Hip/Knee Arthritis Assessment Centre
(AC), where non-surgical candidates with arthritis are directed toward community
resources and provided with a conservative treatment "prescription," contributes
to patients' self-management and ability to access community resources. METHODS:
A purposive sample of non-surgical patients was contacted 3-10 months after their
AC visit. Three focus groups (n=20) and 20 semi-structured telephone interviews
were conducted. Transcripts were systematically coded and analyzed using a
qualitative descriptive research methodology. RESULTS: While participants
generally reported that the AC visit improved self-management, analysis
identified an emergent theme about the inadequacy of conservative management in
general, subdivided into two sub-themes related to (1) limited access to
high-quality, non-surgical treatment, such as physiotherapy and (2) health care
providers' attitudes and approaches, which do not embrace chronic disease
prevention and management. CONCLUSIONS: An AC visit contributes to arthritis
self-management; however, the current health care system does not adequately
support conservative treatment of chronic conditions. Treatment guidelines need
to be tailored to the local health care context in which they are applied.

Langue : ANGLAIS