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Past Projects

aMIgO Feasibility Trial

Study Summary

This study aimed to asses feasibility and acceptability of peer mentorship support in self-management of hip and knee osteoarthritis (OA) in people aged 55 and over.  The first phase of the study was to develop an 'intervention' to help people with hip and knee osteoarthritis manage their symptoms better. The second phase of the study was to trial the intervention. This involved recruiting and training peer mentors (people aged 50 years and over with hip/knee OA) to support other people with OA (study participants) in gaining knowledge and skills and putting them into practice.  All study participants were asked to complete questionnaires at different time points. We compared the results of the questionnaires completed by the people who had peer mentorship support with those who received a booklet about OA. We also asked some people who received the intervention to take part in an interview to tell us about their experiences of peer mentorship, how it changed their self-management behaviour.

This study ran from April 2018-March 2020 and involved 50 study participants and 10 peer mentors. Six members of the public helped develop the peer mentorship intervention and three have continued to help and advise on the study.

We found the peer mentorship intervention was acceptable overall to both people receiving the intervention (mentees) as well as the people delivering it (peer mentors). Most people also enjoyed taking part in the study. We also found that it was possible and practical to run the study and deliver the intervention in the way that we did. However, this was on a small scale. We now need to test out the feasibility and acceptability of the peer mentorship intervention on a bigger scale, with more people. To do this we need to run a Randomised Controlled Trial or 'Full Trial'

GLOSSARY:

  • Osteoarthritis (OA) - a long term condition which causes pain and stiffness in joints. Hip and knee osteoarthritis are two of the most common types of OA affecting
  • Peer-mentor - a member of the public with the same condition as someone they are trained to support
  • Self-management - having particular knowledge, skills and motivation to manage a long term condition

 

We have written and published three papers about this study. One is about the feasibility trial. One is about the experiences of our mentees. One is about the experiences and value of peer mentors. If you would like to read the full articles you can click on the titles below.

Peer mentorship to improve self-management of hip and knee osteoarthritis: a randomised feasibility trial

Anderson AM, Lavender EC, Dusabe-Richards E, et al. Peer mentorship to improve self-management of hip and knee osteoarthritis: a randomised feasibility trial. BMJ Open 2021;11:e045389. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2020-045389

Understanding peer mentorship in supporting self-management of hip and knee osteoarthritis: A qualitative study of mentee's perspectives

Lavender, E. C., Anderson, A. M., Dusabe‐Richards, E., Antcliff, D., Kingsbury, S. R., Conaghan, P. G., & McHugh, G. A. (2021). Understanding peer mentorship in supporting self‐management of hip and knee osteoarthritis: A qualitative study of mentees' perspectives.
Musculoskeletal Care, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1002/msc.1580

Exploring the feasibility, acceptability and value of volunteer peer mentors in supporting self-management of osteoarthritis: a qualitative evaluation

Elizabeth C. Lavender, Esther Dusabe-Richards, Anna M. Anderson, Deborah Antcliff, Linda McGowan, Philip G. Conaghan, Sarah R. Kingsbury & Gretl A. McHugh
(2021): Exploring the feasibility, acceptability and value of volunteer peer mentors in supporting self-management of osteoarthritis: a qualitative evaluation,  Disability and Rehabilitation, DOI:10.1080/09638288.2021.1964625