Peer to Peer Mentoring For Individuals With Early Inflammatory Arthritis: An Effectiveness Study (Pilot RCT)- Peer Mentoring Program

Summary

Peer support (including informational, emotional, appraisal support) has been shown to help persons with chronic conditions. The goal of this research is to examine the impact of early peer support on the health and quality of life of individuals with early inflammatory arthritis (EIA). The investigators hypothesize that early peer support will result in improved use of disease modifying anti-rheumatic drug (DMARD) or biologic treatment, self-efficacy, coping efficacy, social support, health-related quality of life, self-management, and disease activity score as well as reduced anxiety for individuals with EIA within two years of their diagnosis. In this study, persons with IA will be trained as peer mentors using a training program developed for a pilot study. Individuals with EIA will be randomized to receive either "peer support program" or "standard care". Peer mentors will be paired with a person with EIA to provide one-on-one support (face-to-face or telephone) once a week for approximately 30 minutes over a 12-week period. All "standard care" participants will receive the peer mentoring intervention at the end of study. Both groups will be evaluated using self-administered questionnaires and clinical assessments, and results of the two groups will be compared. This information will be used to design a larger study.

Conditions

• Early Inflammatory Arthritis

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

One-on-one peer support

The peer support intervention will take the form of a one-on-one peer mentoring program, using a mutually agreed upon method of communication between each pair of peer mentor and EIA participant (either by telephone or face-to-face meeting at a neutral public location). The research team will pair trained peer mentors and individuals with EIA as closely as possible based on such characteristics as sex, age, working status, and specific disease/type of IA. Peer mentors will be responsible to initiate and maintain contact with individuals with EIA. Individuals with EIA and peer mentors will be asked to have contact once a week for 30 minutes during the 12-week study period. Meetings/ interactions will not be prescribed; rather they will be defined by the individual with EIA. Peer mentors will provide support based on the needs of the individual they are mentoring. As such the nature of each interaction is likely to vary among pairs and from one interaction to the next.

BEHAVIORAL

Standard of care

"Standard of care" is at the discretion of the treating rheumatologist. In addition to information and patient education about the underlying disease process provided at the time of diagnosis, it may include referral to allied health professionals (e.g., physiotherapist, occupational therapist, podiatrist, social worker). This may be via referral to The Arthritis Society or directly to individual practitioners. In addition, it may include referral to voluntary support programs in the community (e.g., Arthritis Self-Management Program).

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Canadian Rheumatology Association

  collaborator OTHER

• Mount Sinai Hospital, Canada

  collaborator OTHER

• The Arthritis Society, Canada

  collaborator OTHER

• Unity Health Toronto

  collaborator OTHER

• University of Toronto

  collaborator OTHER

• Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Mary J Bell, MD, FRCPC · Division of Reumatology, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Masking

DOUBLE

Model

CROSSOVER

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2011-05-31

Primary Completion

2013-05-31

Completion

2013-05-31

Countries

• Canada

Study Locations