SAT0216 PATIENT PERCEPTIONS OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AFTER A DIAGNOSIS OF GIANT CELL ARTERITIS: A SECONDARY ANALYSIS OF MULTINATIONAL QUALITATIVE DATA

Austin, Keziah; Dures, Emma; Almeida, Celia; Cramp, Fiona; Gilbert, Kate; Guly, Catherine; Hill, Catherine; Mackie, Sarah; O’brien, Anne; Watts, Richard; Robson, Joanna

Abstract

Background Giant cell arteritis (GCA) is the most common vasculitis in the UK, with an incidence of 220 cases/million in adults over 50 years of age. The physical symptoms as well as the side effects of glucocorticoids may impact patients’ ability to exercise. Maintaining physical activity (PA) has been shown to be beneficial to disease activity in other inflammatory conditions, and is also a specific priority for GCA patients.

Objectives To explore patient perceptions of physical activity in GCA.

Methods Multinational qualitative study, using interviews with 36 patients from the UK (25) and Australia (11), all of whom had a definitive diagnosis from imaging or biopsy. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analysed using inductive thematic analysis. This is secondary analysis of data collected to explore health-related quality of life in people with GCA.

Results 84 individual themes were reported by patients, each of which fell broadly into two overarching themes: barriers to and facilitators of physical activity. Within each theme, four subthemes were identified. In terms of barriers, these were: negative physical symptoms (including visual loss, fatigue, weakness, pain and stiffness), lack of physical capability (including poor stamina, confidence and mobility), negative perceptions around PA, and negative reinforcement (i.e. new physical symptoms following PA). Facilitators of physical activity were also grouped into four subthemes: external facilitators (including motivation from healthcare professionals and support groups), access to appropriate facilities, personal strategies (including pacing and goal-setting) and personal facilitators (including internal motivation to improve symptoms, and positive reinforcement from PA).

Conclusion There are a variety of barriers to physical activity in GCA patients, including patients being fearful of exercise. In other inflammatory conditions, patients report improved symptoms following physical activity as well as wider benefits to general wellbeing and cardiovascular health. Education, motivational interviewing, and personalised strategies may be beneficial components of an intervention to support physical activity in patients with GCA.

Citation

Austin, K., Dures, E., Almeida, C., Cramp, F., Gilbert, K., Guly, C., Hill, C., Mackie, S., O’brien, A., Watts, R., & Robson, J. (2019, June). SAT0216 PATIENT PERCEPTIONS OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AFTER A DIAGNOSIS OF GIANT CELL ARTERITIS: A SECONDARY ANALYSIS OF MULTINATIONAL QUALITATIVE DATA. Presented at Annual European Congress of Rheumatology, EULAR 2019, Madrid, 12–15 June 2019, Madrid, Spain

• Presentation Conference Type: Conference Abstract
• Conference Name: Annual European Congress of Rheumatology, EULAR 2019, Madrid, 12–15 June 2019
• Start Date: Jun 12, 2019
• End Date: Jun 15, 2019
• Online Publication Date: May 11, 2022
• Publication Date: May 27, 2019
• Deposit Date: Jun 6, 2023
• Print ISSN: 0003-4967
• Electronic ISSN: 1468-2060
• Publisher: BMJ Publishing Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 78
• Issue: S2
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/annrheumdis-2019-eular.3351
• Public URL: https://keele-repository.worktribe.com/output/442259
• Publisher URL: https://ard.bmj.com/content/78/Suppl_2/1183.1