Goeppinger and colleagues determined the effectiveness of an intervention Tool Kit of arthritis self-management materials sent once through the mail; they also described the populations reached. Spanish speakers (n = 335), non-Hispanic English-speaking African Americans (n = 156), and other non-Hispanic English speakers (n = 404) were recruited separately and randomized within each of the three ethnic/racial categories to immediately receive the intervention Tool Kit (n = 458) or to a 4-month wait-list control status (n = 463). At the end of four months, controls were sent the Tool Kit. All subjects were followed in a longitudinal study for 9 months. Self-administered measures included health status, health behavior, arthritis self-efficacy, medical care utilization, and demographic variables. Using analyses of covariance and t-tests, analyses were conducted for all participants and for Spanish- and English-language groups. At four months, comparing all intervention subjects with randomized wait-list controls, there were significant (P < 0.01) benefits in all outcomes except medical care utilization and self-rated health. The results were maintained at 9 months compared with baseline. On average, the Tool Kit reached persons ages 50-56 years with 12-15 years of schooling. There were few differences between English- and Spanish-language participants in either effectiveness or to reach variables.

WHAT THE STUDY MAY MEAN TO YOU AS A HEALTH CARE PROVIDER: A mailed Arthritis Self-Management Tool Kit proved effective in improving health status, health behavior, and self-efficacy variables for up to 9 months. It also reached younger persons in both English- and Spanish-language groups and Spanish speakers with higher education levels than previous studies of the small-group Arthritis Self-Management Program.

WHAT THE STUDY MAY MEAN TO YOU AS A PATIENT: There are many ways to deliver self-management training. A Tool Kit proved effective in achieving this goal in the present study.

J Goeppinger et al. Mail-delivered arthritis self-management tool kit: A randomized trial and longitudinal follow-up. Arthritis & Rheumatology, 2009;61:867-875.