Impact evaluation of an online training on the Strengthening And Stretching for Rheumatoid Arthritis of the Hand (SARAH) programme recommended in the NICE guidelines for rheumatoid arthritis
Srikesavan C., Williamson EM., Sugavanam TP., Adams J., Eldridge LR., Lamb SE.
The SARAH programme is a progressive 12-week hand and arm exercise programme for people with hand dysfunction due to rheumatoid arthritis (RA) which was found to be clinically and cost-effective in a large clinical trial. The SARAH programme is recommended in the NICE guidelines for the management of RA. To aid translation of this evidence-based programme into NHS practice, we developed an online training (iSARAH) for physiotherapists and occupational therapists by involving stakeholders in its design, development, and usability testing. iSARAH is available at https://isarah.octru.ox.ac.uk providing unlimited free access to NHS therapists since April 2017. As part of our ongoing NHS implementation evaluation projects, we are conducting an impact evaluation of iSARAH in 250 therapists who complete iSARAH training and a service evaluation in 300 people with RA. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of iSARAH on perceived competence, implementation intention, learner satisfaction, and perceived barriers for implementing SARAH in clinical practice in therapists who complete iSARAH.