Authors (including presenting author) :
Lo WH
Affiliation :
Physiotherapy, Pok Oi Hospital
Introduction :
Patients with osteoarthritis in knees (OA knee) often complain of knee pain and lower limb weakness which can affect their daily functional activities. In Pok Oi Hospital, patients are referred to outpatient OA knee class in which physiotherapists will educate the patients in self-management of their problems and teach home exercises to the patients for pain relief and improving strength of their lower limbs. HA GO mobile application with videos on home exercises prescribed is introduced to patients to enhance self-efficacy in management of their own condition.
Objectives :
1)To promote patients’ self-management through group therapy and HA Go App 2)To investigate the application of group therapy and HA Go App in improving physical outcomes of OA knee patients 3)To evaluate patient’s satisfaction on HA Go App
Methodology :
In Pok Oi Hospital, OA knee patients were referred by doctors to the physiotherapy department for recruitment into OA knee classes. Each patient would attend a total of two sessions which were conducted at one-month interval. Patients with multiple areas of pain or acute and subacute injuries will be excluded from the program. Outcome measures including Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS), time up and go test (TUGT), thirty seconds sit to stand test (30sSTS), and a questionnaire, The Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score: Quality of Life (KOOS: QoL) were measured in the first and last session. During the first session, education on self-management skills was delivered through PowerPoint presentation and educational pamphlets were given to patients. Home exercises were demonstrated in the class and prescribed through HA Go App. In the last session, home exercises and self-management education were reinforced to patients. A satisfaction score of the HA Go App was rated on a 0-5 scale with 0 being not satisfied and 5 being the highest satisfaction.
Result & Outcome :
A total number of 204 patients (164 patients installed HA Go App and 40 patients without HA Go App) were recruited into OA knee class from Aug 2019 to Dec 2021. For those patients who had HA GO App installed, 70% reported satisfaction score of 4 and above for HA Go App. Pain was evaluated with NPRS which had been decreased from 6.5 to 5.3 (p= 0.000). Quality of Life was evaluated with KOOS (QoL) questionnaire which was increased from 40.1 to 43.9 (p=0.006). Functional outcomes including TUGT had been decreased from 12.1 to 10.4 (p=0.000) and 30sSTS had been increased from 9.8 to 10.8 (p=0.000). In conclusion, OA knee patients were satisfied with the OA knee class and the home exercise prescribed through HA Go App. After attending the two sessions of OA knee class, they had pain reduced, better performance in time up and go test and 30sSTS. Moreover, their quality of life had been improved as reflected by KOOs: QoL. Therefore, the quality of life had been improved. The incorporation of HA Go App is useful to improve the outcomes of OA knee patients.
