supporting patient care with electronic resource (super)

Conditions: Arthritis, Rheumatoid

Summary: this proof-of-concept randomized trial evaluates the effectiveness of using an on-line decision aid (answer-2) in the decision making to start or switch biologic therapy in canadian patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

the proposed project aims to improve the process of making evidence-informed treatment decisions by patients with rheumatoid arthritis (ra) and ultimately, empower patient self-management. current ra treatment emphasizes: 1) the need for early and aggressive treatment, and 2) the use of a treat-to-target approach. patients often struggle with treatment decisions, however, especially when the options have both benefits and risks. to address this challenge, the investigators have developed a new online decision aid called answer-2 (animated, self-serve, web-based, research tool: version 2) for ra patients who are considering a biologic or other new therapy. a unique feature of answer-2 is its ability to individualize how treatment options are presented based on the patient's preferences. objective: 1) to evaluate the effectiveness of answer-2 in reducing patients' decisional conflict. 2) to assess the extent to which answer-2 improves patients' knowledge about ra medications and confidence in managing their health. 3) to examine the experiences of patients and rheumatologists in using the answer-2. the investigators will conduct a proof-of-concept randomized controlled trial with 148 patients with ra. eligible individuals are those: 1) with a diagnosis of ra from a rheumatologist, 2) whose rheumatologists have recommended initiating a biologic or other new therapy or switching to another agent, and 3) who have internet access. the intervention group will receive simple instructions to access answer-2 and complete the program on their own within two days. at the end of the session, a one-page summary will be produced to help them discuss their questions, concerns, and preferred choices with their health care providers. the control group will receive the arthritis society's online education booklet "arthritis medications: a consumer's guide". participants will complete the decisional conflict scale (primary outcome) before and after the intervention (answer-2 or booklet). the following secondary outcome measures will be collected at baseline, 1 month and 2 months: 1) medication education impact questionnaire (meiq), and 2) partners in health scale (phs). in addition, use of healthcare resources will be collected at 2 months. participants will also be asked about their medication preferences at month 1, as well as the shared decision making process in their last appointment, (using the 3-item collaborate scale), at month 1. participants who received the answer-2 decision aid and their rheumatologists will be invited to participate in an interview about their experience with the patient decision aid. the investigators will use analysis of variance (anova) to compare between the intervention group and control group, using the baseline measure as a covariate. an iterative content analysis will be conducted for the qualitative interviews.

Eligibility criteria:
inclusion criteria: * the inclusion criteria are as follows: 1) with a diagnosis of ra from a rheumatologist, 2) whose rheumatologists have recommended initiating a biologic/subsequent entry biologic or switching to another biologic agent, and 3) who have internet access and email. exclusion criteria: * patients who do not meet the inclusion criteria.