Digital Osteoarthritis Care

Condition(s) studied

Investigational drug(s) / intervention(s)

OA school: Patient education according to guidelines, with information about e.g. disease progression, symptoms, treatment, exercise, self-care techniques and dietary information

Virtual Training mobile health application: Individually tailored home exercise programs delivered through a mobile health application

Usual care: Individually tailored exercise programs conducted in weekly supervised individual or group sessions

Study summary

Osteoarthritis (OA) is among the most prevalent and costly diseases, with an estimate of $460 billion in all-cause medical costs. It causes pain and reduced physical function, and with no existing cure, the recommended first-line treatment is information, exercise and weight management if indicated. As the prevalence of OA is expected to increase in the coming years, exploring innovative solutions to maintain economical sustainable treatment in the future becomes a necessity. Telerehabilitation, technology which involves providing treatment through information and communication technology, regardless of the patient's geographical location, has shown its potential within cardiac, pulmonary, neurological and musculoskeletal conditions.

Virtual Training (VT) is a generic mobile health application used to deliver digital home exercise programs with text, audio and video support. Through a novel feedback system the therapist is able monitor the patients progress and pain level during exercise. This project aims to investigate, through a randomized controlled trial (RCT), whether the use of the VT-app is as effective as supervised exercise therapy in improving pain, physical function and disease activity in patients with hip and/or knee osteoarthritis. In addition, the investigators want to investigate if the use of the app is more cost effective than supervised exercise therapy, whether the use increases adherence with first line treatment, and whether there are certain characteristics of the patients responding to the intervention.

Eligibility

Primary outcome measure(s)

• Number of responders according to OMERACT-OARSI responder criteria — 6 weeks (end of intervention period)
  A patient is classified as a responder if one of the following criteria is fulfilled: 1. High improvement in pain or function from baseline to follow-up * ≥50% improvement + absolute change of ≥2 in pain, OR * ≥50% improvement + absolute change of ≥2 in function 2. Improvement in at least two of the three following from baseline to follow-up: * ≥20% improvement + absolute change ≥1 in pain * ≥20% improvement + absolute change ≥1 in function * ≥20% improvement + absolute change ≥1 in the patient´s global assessment of disease activity

Trial sites (13)

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