Marra 2012.
| Methods | Randomised trial | |
| Participants | 139 participants with osteoarthritis (OA): (intervention 73; control 66) Community pharmacies Metropolitan area of Vancouver, Canada Year of study: Not stated. |
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| Interventions | Pharmacist‐led or educator‐led educational intervention Quote "Intervention patients received one‐on‐one consultation with a pharmacist. Pharmacists offered education, medication review, referral to a physiotherapist and a guided exercise program. We provided education regarding counselling on the symptoms and other aspects of knee OA. Patients were given the opportunity to participate in an Arthritis Self Management Program. Each patient received personalised education from the physiotherapist for a personalised regimen. Patients were told to avoid exercise during active symptom flares. Walking aids were recommended when necessary. At the end of weeks three and six, the patients were reassessed by the physiotherapist and the participant’s exercise recommendations were adjusted as needed. Patients in the intervention group were recommended to attend at least two physiotherapist‐guided exercise sessions per month for a total of 12 sessions." Duration: 6 months |
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| Outcomes | WOMAC (Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index) | |
| Notes | Funding source: This study was funded by a pilot grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research/Canadian Arthritis Network New Emerging Team Grant (Tooling Up for Early Osteoarthritis) and by peer‐reviewed operating grants from the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research and the Canadian Arthritis Network. Dr. Marra is a Health Services Scholar, supported by the Michael Smith Foundation for Medical Research, and is a Government of Canada Research Chair in Pharmaceutical Outcomes. Dr. Cibere is supported by a JW McConnell Family Foundation Scholar Award and a CIHR Clinical Scientist Award. Dr. Tsuyuki is supported by the Merck Frosst/Aventis Chair in Patient Health Management at the University of Alberta. Dr. Khan is a New Investigator at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Conflict of interest: Not stated |
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| Risk of bias | ||
| Bias | Authors' judgement | Support for judgement |
| Random sequence generation (selection bias) | Low risk | To randomise the pharmacies, values from a uniform (0,1) distribution were generated by the study statistician. Pharmacies were randomized to provide either the intervention (21 pharmacies) or usual care (21 pharmacies). |
| Allocation concealment (selection bias) | Unclear risk | Pharmacy‐level randomisation most important here. Unclear |
| Blinding of participants and personnel (performance bias) All Outcomes/Outcome 1 | High risk | Unblinded. Participants were informed whether they were to receive the intervention or usual care after they provided consent. Subjective outcomes subject to bias |
| Blinding of outcome assessment (detection bias) All Outcomes/Outcome 1 | High risk | Unblinded. Participants were informed whether they were to receive the intervention or usual care after they provided consent. Subjective outcomes subject to bias |
| Incomplete outcome data (attrition bias) All outcomes | Low risk | All analyses were conducted using intention‐to‐treat principles. Between group attrition < 10%. |
| Selective reporting (reporting bias) | Low risk | All reported. 1 primary outcome |
| Other bias | High risk | Baseline differences |