Table 1.

The patient education programme for osteoarthritis (PEPOA)

Session	Content
First session	Physiotherapist and occupational therapist at the same time. Information about anatomy, about physiology of pain and coping with pain. Try cold and heat. Brainstorming about what the participants finds hard to do.
Second session	Physiotherapist. Information about exercise and physical activity. Practical demonstration of home-training exercises for the lower extremity. Demonstration of different kinds of orthopaedic aids for the lower extremity.
Third session	Orthopaedic specialist, nurse and nutritionist. Information about OA and current research. Information about medications. Information about appropriate diet.
Fourth session	Occupational therapist. Ergonomics and practical instructions about equipment and technical aids. Feedback to the brainstorming from session one.
Fifth session	Occupational therapist. Information about surgery of the hand, demonstration of orthopaedic aids for hands. Try out treatment with hot paraffin. Practical demonstration of home training exercises for the hand.

The programme lasted for five weeks, with group sessions once a week, three hours for each session.