J Rheumatol
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Does self-management education benefit all populations with arthritis? A randomized controlled trial in a primary care physician network.
Studies have suggested that the Arthritis Self-Management Program (ASMP) course is effective at reducing arthritis pain and health care costs in volunteer participants. There have been no reports of trials of the ASMP in the context of primary care physicians' practices, where the potential for spreading the program may be greatest. We conducted a randomized controlled trial of the ASMP course in a large primary care physician network. ⋯ While the ASMP course has been found to be effective in other patient groups, there were no significant clinical benefits noted at 4 months in patients recruited from primary care practices.