The British Journal of Rheumatology, Vol 37, 985-987, Copyright © 1998 by British Society for Rheumatology
JH Barlow, AP Turner and CC Wright
OBJECTIVE: With the advent of community-based arthritis education
programmes, it is important to determine the accuracy of participants'
self-reported diagnoses. The purpose of this study was to determine the
level of agreement between general practitioner (GP)-recorded and self-
reported diagnoses of participants attending an Arthritis Self- Management
Programme (ASMP). METHODS: Participants enrolling on the ASMP were asked to
(a) identify their type of arthritis via a self- administered postal
questionnaire and (b) obtain a written confirmation of their diagnosis from
their GP. The sample (n = 613) comprised mainly women (83%) with a mean age
of 58.8 yr (S.D. 12.6) and a mean disease duration of 15.4 yr (S.D. 12.5).
RESULTS: Participants' self-reported diagnoses were confirmed by GPs in 534
cases [87.1%, 95% confidence interval (CI): 84.4 89.8%]. Confirmed
diagnoses were reported by 86.9% (95% CI: 83.1-90.7%) of those with
osteoarthritis (OA) and 96.1% (95% CI: 93.6 98.6%) of those with rheumatoid
arthritis (RA). The concordance rate for all other types of arthritis
combined was lower at 60.5% (95% CI: 49.5-71.5%). There were no significant
differences with respect to age, gender, education, physical functioning,
duration of disease and number of GP visits between those who correctly
identified their type of arthritis and those who did not. CONCLUSIONS: This
study suggests that the majority of RA and OA participants attending an
arthritis education programme can correctly identify their specific type of
arthritis.
ORIGINAL PAPERS
Comparison of clinical and self-reported diagnoses for participants on a community-based arthritis self-management programme
Psychosocial Rheumatology Research Centre, School of Health & Social Sciences, Coventry University.
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  N. el-Guebaly, S. Currie, J. Williams, J. Wang, C. A. Beck, C. Maxwell, and S. B. Patten Association of Mood, Anxiety, and Substance Use Disorders With Occupational Status and Disability in a Community Sample Psychiatr Serv, May 1, 2007; 58(5): 659 - 667. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 G. Peat, J. Greig, L. Wood, R. Wilkie, E. Thomas, P. Croft, and for the KNE-SCI Study Group Diagnostic discordance: we cannot agree when to call knee pain 'osteoarthritis' Fam. Pract., February 1, 2005; 22(1): 96 - 102. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 A. P Turner, J. H Barlow, and C. Heathcote-Elliott Long term health impact of playing professional football in the United Kingdom Br. J. Sports Med., October 1, 2000; 34(5): 332 - 336. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|