Twenty-two men with rheumatoid arthritis were randomly assigned to either a patient education group, receiving standard inpatient medical care in addition to a formal education program, or a control group receiving only the inpatient medical care. Members of the groups were not significantly different in terms of age, degree of life stress, socioeconomic status, educational level, or years since onset of rheumatoid arthritis. Dependent measures included the Arthritis Knowledge Inventory (AKI), the Arthritis Impact Measurement Scales (AIMS), and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and they were collected preeducation, posteducation, and at a three-month followup. Results from the AIMS revealed improvement in dexterity, social role, depression, and overall health status for both groups. The BDI also revealed significantly less depression for both groups, reflecting a general improvement following medical intervention. Although the patient education group revealed significantly higher scores on the knowledge measure, they also revealed significantly more impairment of activity levels and significantly higher pain scores. Education was effective for increasing rheumatoid arthritis knowledge, but such topics as joint protection and disease process may adversely affect how patients view their physical capacities and interpret their pain.

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