Priority strategies to reduce socio-gendered inequities in access to person-centred osteoarthritis care: Delphi survey.

OBJECTIVES: Osteoarthritis (OA) prevalence, severity and related comorbid conditions are greater among women compared with men, but women, particularly racialised women, are less likely than men to access OA care. We aimed to prioritise strategies needed to reduce inequities in OA management. DESIGN: Delphi survey of 28 strategies derived from primary research retained if at least 80% of respondents rated 6 or 7 on a 7-point Likert scale. SETTING: Online. PARTICIPANTS: 35 women of diverse ethno-cultural groups and 29 healthcare professionals of various specialties from across Canada. RESULTS: Of the 28 initial and 3 newly suggested strategies, 27 achieved consensus to retain: 20 in round 1 and 7 in round 2. Respondents retained 7 patient-level, 7 clinician-level and 13 system-level strategies. Women and professionals agreed on all but one patient-level strategy (eg, consider patients' cultural needs and economic circumstances) and all clinician-level strategies (eg, inquire about OA management needs and preferences). Some discrepancies emerged for system-level strategies that were more highly rated by women (eg, implement OA-specific clinics). Comments revealed general support among professionals for system-level strategies provided that additional funding or expanded scope of practice was targeted to only formally trained professionals and did not reduce funding for professionals who already managed OA. CONCLUSIONS: We identified multilevel strategies that could be implemented by healthcare professionals, organisations or systems to mitigate inequities and improve OA care for diverse women.

Strategies to Improve Equitable Access to Early Osteoarthritis Diagnosis and Management: An updated Review.

Though osteoarthritis (OA) affects millions of people worldwide, many fail to access recommended early, person-centered OA care, particularly women who are disproportionately impacted by OA. A prior review identified few strategies to improve equitable access to early diagnosis and management for multiple disadvantaged groups. We aimed to update that review with literature published in 2010 or later on strategies to improve OA care for disadvantaged groups including women. We identified only 11 eligible studies, of which only 2 (18%) focused on women only. Other disadvantaged groups targeted in the largely US-based studies included patients who are Black, Spanish-speaking, rural, and adults aged 60 years and older. All studies evaluated interventions targeted to patients; 4 (36%) assessed video decision aids, and 7 (63.6%) assessed in-person, video, or telephone self-management education. Interventions were often multifaceted (n = 9, 82%), and most studies (n = 8, 73%) achieved positive outcomes in at least some outcomes measured. No studies evaluated clinician- or system-level strategies. Few studies (n = 5, 45%) described how they tailored strategies to disadvantaged groups or how they addressed person-centered care concepts apart from enabling self-management. Future research is needed to develop, implement, evaluate, and scale-up multilevel strategies to enhance equitable, person-centered OA care for disadvantaged groups including women.