Table 1 Educational content covered on a weekly basis during the intervention
Topic for the week | Content covered |
|---|---|
Week 1: Osteoarthritis, self-management and exercise | Pathology of OA. What is meant by “self-management”? Self-management steps.Action plans, goal setting. Exercise dos and don’ts. Types of exercise, steps tosuccess with exercise. An exercise routine. |
Week 2: Managing common symptoms | Physiology of acute and chronic pain. Pain and flare ups of pain. Swelling.Joint protection, assistive devices. Pacing and activity/resting cycles.Fatigue, frustration, isolation. |
Week 3: Stress management | What is stress? Managing stress. Sleep management. Communication withyour health carer. Relaxation skills. |
Week 4: Eating well | Balanced nutrition. Dealing with barriers to eating well. Food safety,weight loss benefits. |
Week 5: Medication and disease related problem solving | Making informed treatment decisions. Appropriate use of medications.Link between a healthy lifestyle, good nutrition and exercise. Communicatingeffectively with family, friends, and health professionals with regardsto your problems. |
Week 6: Continuing as a successful self-manager | Recap of key components of successful self-managing, Action planning forthe future. Reflection on changes. |