Arthritis Self-Management: A Study of the Effectiveness of Patient Education for the Elderly

Abstract

Two hundred people aged 55 to 94 with arthritis participated in a 12-hour community-based, lay-led arthritis self-management course. Participants in the 55–74 age group showed significant gains in knowledge and decreases in pain for 20 months and in disability for 8 months. Participants in the 75–94 age group also increased their knowledge for 20 months and decreased their pain and number of visits to physicians for 8 months.