Healthier Living With Arthritis Online Program

• Health Distress Scale at six months and one year
  
• Activities Limitation Scale at six months and one year
  
• Self Efficacy for Management of Arthritis Scale at six months and one year
  
• Stretching and strengthening exercise at six months and one year
  
• Visits of Physicians at six months and one year
  

• Self-Reported General Health at six months and one year
  
• Visual Numeric Pain at six months and one year
  
• Visual Numeric Fatigue at six months and one year
  
• Disability at six months and one year
  
• Aerobic Exercise at six months and one year
  
• Communication with Physician at six months and one year
  
• Cognitive Sympton Management at six months and one year
  
• Emergency Department Visits at six months and one year
  
• Nights in Hospital at six months and one year
  

An internet-based arthritis self-management program was developed based on the widely used small-group arthritis self-management program. Individuals with arthritis were recruited via established websites, on-line newsletters, discussion groups, calendar announcements and articles in newspapers, and asked to go to the project website. Subjects who filled out an informed consent and met all of the following criteria were invited to enroll:

1. At least 18 years of age
2. A physician's diagnosis of osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis or fibromyalgia.
3. Not have been in active treatment for cancer for one year.
4. Not participated in the small group Arthritis Self-Management or Chronic Disease Self-Management Program

Those eligible and wishing to continue were randomized to receive the internet-based arthritis self-management program (treatment group) or to continue with usual care (control group). On-line questionnaires were administered at baseline, six months and twelve months after the program. Measures included health indicators, health behaviors, self efficacy and health care utilization. It is hypothesized that course participants, compared to the usual-care control group, will show statistically significant improvements (using Analyses of Covariance and Logistic Regressions) in outcome variables and that the improvements will be associated with increased self-efficacy for management of arthritis.