Non-UK purchasers will have to pay a small fee for post and packing. For European countries the cost is £2 per monograph and for the rest of the world £3 per monograph.You can order HTA monographs from our Despatch Agents:-fax (with credit card or official purchase order) -post (with credit card or official purchase order or cheque) -phone during office hours (credit card only).Additionally the HTA website allows you either to pay securely by credit card or to print out your order and then post or fax it. NHS libraries can subscribe free of charge. Public libraries can subscribe at a very reduced cost of £100 for each volume (normally comprising 30-40 titles). The commercial subscription rate is £300 per volume. Please see our website for details. Subscriptions can only be purchased for the current or forthcoming volume. Contact details are as follows: Payment methods Paying by chequeIf you pay by cheque, the cheque must be in pounds sterling, made payable to Direct Mail Works Ltd and drawn on a bank with a UK address. Paying by credit cardThe following cards are accepted by phone, fax, post or via the website ordering pages: Delta, Eurocard, Mastercard, Solo, Switch and Visa. We advise against sending credit card details in a plain email. Paying by official purchase orderYou can post or fax these, but they must be from public bodies (i.e. NHS or universities) within the UK. We cannot at present accept purchase orders from commercial companies or from outside the UK. How do I get a copy of HTA on CD?Please use the form on the HTA website (www.hta.ac.uk/htacd.htm). Or contact Direct Mail Works (see contact details above) by email, post, fax or phone. HTA on CD is currently free of charge worldwide.The website also provides information about the HTA Programme and lists the membership of the various committees. HTA NHS R&D HTA ProgrammeT he research findings from the NHS R&D Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Programme directly influence key decision-making bodies such as the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) and the National Screening Committee (NSC) who rely on HTA outputs to help raise standards of care. HTA findings also help to improve the quality of the service in the NHS indirectly in that they form a key component of the 'National Knowledge Service' that is being developed to improve the evidence of clinical practice throughout the NHS.The HTA Programme was set up in 1993. Its role is to ensure that high-quality research information on the costs, effectiveness and broader impact of health technologies is produced in the most efficient way for those who use, manage and provide care in the NHS. 'Health technologies' are broadly defined to include all interventions used to promote health, prevent and treat disease, and improve rehabilitation and long-term care, rather than settings of care.The HTA programme commissions research only on topics where it has identified key gaps in the evidence needed by the NHS. Suggestions for topics are actively sought from people working in the NHS, the publi...

Patient education as provided in the studies reviewed here had moderate short-term effects on patient global assessment, and small short-term effects on disability, joint counts and psychological status. There were no long-term benefits.

The Transtheoretical Model (TTM) has gained widespread popularity and acceptance, yet little is known about its effectiveness as a basis for health behavior intervention. A systematic review was conducted in order to evaluate the effectiveness of TTM interventions in facilitating health-related behavior change. Thirty-five electronic databases, catalogues, and internet resources were searched for relevant studies. In addition, the bibliographies of retrieved references were scanned for further relevant publications and authors were contacted for further information where necessary. Thirty-seven randomized controlled trials, targeting seven health-related behaviors, satisfied the inclusion criteria. Overall, the methodological quality of trials was variable, and there was limited evidence for the effectiveness of stage-based interventions as a basis for behavior change or for facilitating stage progression, irrespective of whether those interventions were compared with other types of intervention or with no intervention or usual care controls. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed. © 2005 Taylor & Francis Group Ltd

Objective. To determine the effects of group education followed by booster sessions for people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and to determine whether participation of a significant other influenced the effects. Methods. A total of 218 RA patients, each of them with a partner, took part in the study. Two-thirds of the patients received a 5-week group self-management education program, with booster sessions after 3, 6, and 9 months; half of them received the intervention with a partner, and half without. One-third of the patients received the same educational materials without group sessions. Data were collected 1 week before the group sessions began and 2, 6, and 12 months later. The assessments included health behavior, arthritis self-efficacy, health status, and social interactions. Results. After 12 months, self-efficacy scores for coping with other symptoms were significantly higher for patients participating in the group education without a partner and significantly lower for patients participating in the group education with a partner. Fatigue increased in patients participating in the group education with a significant other and decreased in patients participating in the group education without a significant other. No other effects were found on health status, health behavior, or social interactions. Conclusion. Our findings suggest that participation of a significant other in psychoeducational programs does not have only positive effects. Instead of stimulating patients to adopt beneficial health behaviors and increase their self-efficacy expectations, participation of a significant other led in our program to decreases in self-efficacy and increased fatigue, whereas patients participating in group education without partners showed increases in self-efficacy and decreased fatigue. Booster sessions did not seem to influence results. KEY WORDS. Rheumatoid arthritis; Spouses; Patient education; Self management. INTRODUCTIONRheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, disabling disease characterized by chronic inflammation of joints, in most patients resulting in progressive joint destruction with deformities and various degrees of incapacitation (1). Disease activity can vary considerably, even from day to day. The unpredictable and painful course of the disease causes a lot of stress for patients, which has great impact on their quality of life (2).People with arthritis can play an important part in the management of their disease. Patient education can help them to develop the necessary self-management skills and prepare them to make decisions about adjustments in their treatment regimen (3,4). Several studies have shown that patient education can increase knowledge and lead to improvements in self management practices and health status (3,5-10). However, a review of group education for RA patients showed that benefits were limited. Group education interventions for RA patients less often showed beneficial effects on health behavior and physical and psychosocial health status than group interventions for popu...

Non-UK purchasers will have to pay a small fee for post and packing. For European countries the cost is £2 per monograph and for the rest of the world £3 per monograph.You can order HTA monographs from our Despatch Agents:-fax (with credit card or official purchase order) -post (with credit card or official purchase order or cheque) -phone during office hours (credit card only).Additionally the HTA website allows you either to pay securely by credit card or to print out your order and then post or fax it. NHS libraries can subscribe free of charge. Public libraries can subscribe at a very reduced cost of £100 for each volume (normally comprising 30-40 titles). The commercial subscription rate is £300 per volume. Please see our website for details. Subscriptions can only be purchased for the current or forthcoming volume. Contact details are as follows: Payment methods Paying by chequeIf you pay by cheque, the cheque must be in pounds sterling, made payable to Direct Mail Works Ltd and drawn on a bank with a UK address. Paying by credit cardThe following cards are accepted by phone, fax, post or via the website ordering pages: Delta, Eurocard, Mastercard, Solo, Switch and Visa. We advise against sending credit card details in a plain email. Paying by official purchase orderYou can post or fax these, but they must be from public bodies (i.e. NHS or universities) within the UK. We cannot at present accept purchase orders from commercial companies or from outside the UK. How do I get a copy of HTA on CD?Please use the form on the HTA website (www.hta.ac.uk/htacd.htm). Or contact Direct Mail Works (see contact details above) by email, post, fax or phone. HTA on CD is currently free of charge worldwide.The website also provides information about the HTA Programme and lists the membership of the various committees. HTA NHS R&D HTA ProgrammeT he research findings from the NHS R&D Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Programme directly influence key decision-making bodies such as the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) and the National Screening Committee (NSC) who rely on HTA outputs to help raise standards of care. HTA findings also help to improve the quality of the service in the NHS indirectly in that they form a key component of the 'National Knowledge Service' that is being developed to improve the evidence of clinical practice throughout the NHS.The HTA Programme was set up in 1993. Its role is to ensure that high-quality research information on the costs, effectiveness and broader impact of health technologies is produced in the most efficient way for those who use, manage and provide care in the NHS. 'Health technologies' are broadly defined to include all interventions used to promote health, prevent and treat disease, and improve rehabilitation and long-term care, rather than settings of care.The HTA Programme commissions research only on topics where it has identified key gaps in the evidence needed by the NHS. Suggestions for topics are actively sought from people working in the NHS,...