Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic disease requiring immediate pharmacological treatment. Chronically-ill patients may also benefit from self-management support and multidisciplinary care. This... Show moreRheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic disease requiring immediate pharmacological treatment. Chronically-ill patients may also benefit from self-management support and multidisciplinary care. This thesis focused on 1) self-management support, and 2) productive interactions between the informed patient and the multidisciplinary care team as applied to the management of RA, with a focus on the patient perspective. With respect to self-management support, this thesis showed that there is a considerable information need among RA patients. An instrument to systematically assess information need (the Dutch ENAT) was translated and tested among RA patients. A website to inform patients about practical aspects of regional health care services had a positive effect on the information need of RA patients. Concerning multidisciplinary team care, this thesis suggests that despite advances in (non-)pharmacological care, subgroups of RA patients remain in need of multidisciplinary team care. The WHODAS II was found to be a valid and responsive instrument to evaluate the effectiveness of team care. However, the ICF Core Sets for RA appeared to be the most useful instrument to make a comprehensive assessment of the RA patient and to optimize goal setting and goal evaluation, as they best covered the aspects considered important by patients. Show less
Meesters, J.J.L.; Boer, I.G. de; Berg, M.H. van den; Fiocco, M.; Vliet Vlieland, T.P.M. 2012
