Application and effects of a self-management program for patients with knee osteoarthritis

Abstract

This study examined the effects of a self-management program (exer-cise therapy, dietary education, and aromatherapy) on physical symp-toms (pain, daily living function, exercise function), quality of life, and sleep disturbances in knee osteoarthritis patients at a clinic in Andong city. A total of 66 patients (33 experimental, 33 control) with stage 2 or higher knee osteoarthritis participated. Data were analyzed using a sta-tistical program, including descriptive statistics, frequencies, percent-ages, means, χ2 test, t-test, and Fisher exact test and Bonferroni, and analysis of variance to examine the research objectives and measure-ment variables. Significant improvements were observed in the experi-mental group for pain, daily living functions, exercise functions, and quality of life (F=62.73, P<0.001; F=22.68, P<0.001; F=8.19, P=0.006; F=14.02, P<0.001, respectively). Additionally, significant interactions between time points and group effects were found, indicating differ-ences in the patterns of change in physical symptoms, daily living func-tions, exercise functions, and quality of life between the groups (F=34.56, P<0.001; F=15.42, P<0.001; F=5.82, P=0.019; F=11.77, P=0.001). For sleep disturbances improved in the experimental group (F=16.79, P<0.001), but no significant group-time interactions were found (F=0.01, P=0.920). These findings suggest that self-management program effectively reduce pain and enhance physical function, quality of life, and sleep, emphasizing the need for structured, ongoing educa-tional interventions for knee osteoarthritis patients.