Self-management is rapidly being mainstreamed into the treatment of arthritis. Albert and coworkers examined the prevalence of self-management practices among older White and African American persons with osteoarthritis. Self-management was defined broadly to include all behaviors adopted to reduce morbidity, whether recommended by physicians or not. A population-based sample of Medicare beneficiaries (N = 551) was recruited. An expanded set of self-management behaviors using structured and open-ended inquiry, along with use of arthritis-specific medications, was elicited. Few differences in self-care behaviors between race groups were found. However, older African American persons were significantly less likely to have prescriptions for nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents and more likely to use over-the-counter nonprescription analgesics.

WHAT THE STUDY MAY MEAN TO YOU: The authors concluded that older White and African American persons made similar use of self-care strategies to reduce disease morbidity. African Americans without access to prescription pain relievers substituted nonprescription analgesics. This is a study that make you wonder which group receives the most relief for their osteoarthritis: the group that uses over-the-counter drugs or the group that relies on prescriptive nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents? It would be of interest to attempt to determine pain levels in the two groups, even though this is a subjective self-reported outcome measure.

SM Albert et al. Self-Care and Professionally Guided Care in Osteoarthritis: Racial Differences in a Population-Based Sample. Journal of Aging & Health, 2008;20:198-216.