'i LEARNT so MUCH about MY APPROACH to BEING ACTIVE': EXPERIENCES of PEOPLE with RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS on the IMPACT of A PHYSIOTHERAPIST LED INTERVENTION to PROMOTE PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

ABSTRACT

Background: Physical activity is an important component in the management of people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) [1]. A Physiotherapist-led Intervention to Promote Physical Activity in people with RA (PIPPRA) was undertaken using the Behaviour Change Wheel, with the aim of examining the feasibility of promoting physical activity in RA. This qualitative study involved participants and health care professionals who participated and were involved in a behaviour change pilot RCT intervention. Objectives: To determine, qualitatively, the acceptability of PIPPRA to participants with RA and health care professionals, in order to capture their reality. Methods: A qualitative study design of face-to-face semi-structured interviews was undertaken. The interview schedule explored the following areas experience of the intervention;unintended consequences;experience and suitability of outcome measures used;views regarding the intervention;perceptions of behaviour change and physical activity. Interviews were transcribed verbatim by a professional transcriber. Thematic analysis was used as an analytical approach [2]. The research team searched for patterns, analysed and coded the data, and generated themes and sub-themes. Themes were reviewed by the research team to check if they worked in relation to the coded extracts and the entire data set. The COREQ checklist provided guidance throughout [3]. Results: Fourteen participants [13 female/1 male;mean age of 59 (SD 6.3);mean RA diagnosis of 8.6 (SD 6.8) years;moderate to severe disability (HAQ-DI 1. 4 (SD 0.50)] and 8 healthcare staff [4 female/4 male;mean age of 41 (SD 5.6)] participated. Three main themes were generated from participants:-1) Positive experience of behaviour change intervention-'I found it very knowledgeable to help you get stronger';2) Improvement in self-management-'.motivate me maybe to go back to doing a little bit more exercise';3) Negative impact of COVID-19 on intervention-'I don't think doing it online again would be really good at all.' T w o main themes from health care professionals-1) Positive learning experience of behaviour change delivery-'Really made me realise the importance of discussing physical activity with patients';2) Positive approach to recruitment-'Very professional team showing the importance of having a study member on site'. Conclusion: The fndings demonstrated that participants had a positive experience of being involved in a behaviour change intervention in order to improve their physical activity and found it acceptable as an intervention. However, if given the choice they would prefer the intervention delivery face to face rather than telehealth. Healthcare professionals also had a positive experience and in particular found it benefcial to their own development, in particular the importance of recommending PA to patients.