Descriptions of movement experiences in the Body Awareness Rating Scale - Movement Quality and Experience evaluation. A qualitative study of patients diagnosed with hip osteoarthritis

Features and management of osteoarthritis from the perspective of individuals with osteoarthritis: A systematic review of qualitative studies

Objective

To enable person-centered care, considering beliefs, needs, and priorities of individuals with osteoarthritis (OA) is crucial. Nevertheless, concepts that they consider important are not fully recapitulated in assessment and care. The aim of this study was to clarify how individuals with OA conceive, experience, and manage their OA and pain.

Design

A systematic literature review was conducted including qualitative studies (interviews, focus groups, open questionnaires) regardless of OA joint location. Verbatim quotations relating to OA and OA-related pain were collected and merged in codes. Themes and categories relating to these codes were defined.

Results

The seven databases yielded a total of 9585 studies of which 79 qualitative studies were selected. Analysis of 667 verbatim quotations of 2009 participants led to 117 codes and 24 themes. Themes were grouped into 2 categories, 'features' and 'management'. 'Features' encompassed experiences ranging from common challenges (e.g., adjust to reduced function) to high impact outcomes needing therapeutic attention (e.g., devastating pain). The 'management' category captured positive and negative conceptions associated with pharmacological and cognitive-behavioral self-management, psychoeducation, and interventions. Themes from both categories were classified into four domains: symptoms, functioning, psychological, and social. A fifth domain 'disease' was also used to categorize the themes under 'features'.

Conclusions

Several themes reported by OA individuals are hardly represented in current assessment and recommendations, e.g., fatigue, sleep disturbance, psychosocial impact, and effects on family and caregivers. The reviewed beliefs, needs, and priorities may support individualized screening, complement existing assessment instruments, and can help refine interventions and psychoeducational materials.

Movement quality evaluation and its correlation with recommended functional measures in hip osteoarthritis

OBJECTIVE

Hip osteoarthritis may cause compensational movement strategies that require extra physical and mental effort. Such aberrant functioning can be captured in movement quality evaluation. The objective of this study was to explore whether movement quality, evaluated as a multiperspective phenomenon, is reflected in commonly used and recommended functional measures in this group of patients.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study design was used. Baseline included 80 female and 21 male participants with hip osteoarthritis. Movement quality was evaluated by the Body Awareness Rating Scale-Movement Quality and Experience (BARS-MQE), part one, including 12 movement items. Correlation analyses (Pearson and Spearman) were performed to explore associations between BARS-MQE (sum score and single item scores), and scores on measures of physical capacity (Chair test, Stairs test, 6 minutes walking test; 6MWT), self-reported activity level (UCLA), function (HOOS subscales), pain during walking (NRS), self-efficacy (ASES) and health (EQ-5D-5L). Based on previous evidence, we hypothesized moderate associations between BARS-MQE and these measures.

RESULTS

BARS-MQE's sum score showed moderate associations with Stairs test, 6MWT and UCLA (r = -0.425 to 0.304) and weak associations (r = 0.29 to 0.12) with ASES Pain and Symptoms, HOOS ADL, Chair test, NRS, HOOS Pain and Sports, and EQ-5D-5L. No association was found between BARS-MQE and HOOS Symptoms and Quality of life. Movement quality in item 12, walking, demonstrated moderate or weak association with all included measures.

CONCLUSION

In this study of participants diagnosed with hip osteoarthritis, movement quality evaluated by BARS-MQE was moderately reflected in measures of physical capacity and activity, but weakly reflected in self-reported measures of health problems. With its particular dynamic procedure and inclusion of the whole moving person, movement quality evaluation by the BARS-MQE was shown to provide supplementary information on functioning, scarcely captured by the commonly used and recommended measures.