Effectiveness of community pharmacist-led interventions in osteoarthritis pain management: A cluster-randomized trial

Abstract

BackgroundCommunity pharmacists contribute in osteoarthritis management via evidence-based pain management services. However, their roles and impacts on osteoarthritis management in low- and middle-income countries have yet to be explored. ObjectiveThis study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of community pharmacist-led educational intervention and medication review among osteoarthritis patients. MethodsA 6-month cluster-randomized controlled study was conducted in 22 community pharmacies of Nepal. Patients clinically diagnosed with osteoarthritis, aged 18 years and above, with a poor knowledge level of osteoarthritis and pain management were enrolled in the study. The intervention groups were educated on osteoarthritis and pain management, and had their medications reviewed while control group received usual care. Primary outcomes evaluated for the study were the change in pain levels, knowledge, and physical functional scores at 3 and 6 months. Repeated analyses of covariance were performed to examine the outcomes. ResultsA total of 158 participants were recruited for the study. The intervention group reported improvements in pain score (mean difference 0.473, 95 % CI 0.047 to 0.900) at 3 months and the end of the study (mean difference 0.469, 95 % CI 0.047 to 0.891) as compared to control. Similarly, improvement in knowledge scores were observed in the intervention group at 3 months (mean difference 5.320, 95 % CI 4.982 to 5.658) and 6 months (mean difference 5.411, 95 % CI 5.086 to 5.735). No differences were observed in other outcomes, including physical functional score, depression, and quality of life. ConclusionCommunity pharmacist-led intervention improved patients’ knowledge of osteoarthritis and pain management. While pain scores improved, physical functional score, depression, and quality of life score remained unchanged. Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT05337709.