Table II.

Summary of GPs’ key concerns and associated recommendations.

Concern 1: The impact of public health campaigns on primary care workload	GPs felt that campaigns would increase their workload and were concerned that many of the additional patient consultations would be inappropriate. To manage the extra workload, GPs felt that some financial resources invested in campaigns should be directed towards primary care to meet the extra demand for services
Concern 2: The impact on care pathways	GPs were concerned that secondary care services may become overwhelmed by extra referrals and that additional resources should be in place to deal with the additional workload
Concern 3: Causing undue anxiety amongst the public	GPs were concerned that members of the public may become unduly anxious about musculoskeletal problems. This may compel some people to seek help for conditions for which self-management would be more appropriate. GPs felt that this could be minimised by a campaign focused on those symptoms which were very specific for RA
Concern 4: Lack of knowledge about the early symptoms of RA	GPs felt that little was known about the symptoms that characterise the earliest stages of RA and suggested that research was needed to understand the way that symptoms emerge. They suggested that this information could be used to inform the content of public health campaigns and assist GPs in identifying those in need of a referral to a rheumatologist