KickStart30: A 30-Day Intervention for Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)

This study explores the efficacy and feasibility of a self-management wellness intervention that is integrated, prescriptive, and trackable in a population of patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) taking a biologic. This 30-day wellness intervention (called "KickStart30") combines five wellness elements: exercise, mindfulness, sleep, social connectedness, and nutrition. Additionally, the program requires that participants implement 5 wellness interventions daily for the 30-day study, document daily online adherence, complete daily HERO (happiness, enthusiasm, resilience, and optimism) exercises to improve mental wellness, and complete online program forms before and after the 30-day intervention. Participants are assessed pre- and post-intervention to determine whether the intervention promotes wellness behavior changes.

It is expected that this 30-day integrated, prescriptive, and trackable wellness intervention (combining five wellness elements including exercise, mindfulness, sleep, social connectedness, and nutrition) will be found to be an efficacious program for those with Rheumatoid Arthritis taking a biologic or a JAK inhibitor. Traditionally mental health and other specialties like rheumatology have focused primarily on the diagnosis and treatment of illness rather than incorporating wellness as an essential element of treatment. Those in the helping professions are trained to diagnose health problems with treatment typically focusing on symptom reduction. More recently, mental health and other healthcare specialties like rheumatology have initiated a conversation and subsequent research focusing on the importance of integrating elements of wellness into treatment. Rather than focusing solely on symptom reduction, some providers have begun incorporating elements of wellness promotion into treatment with favorable results. To the best of our knowledge, even though there is abundant research supporting each of the KickStart30 elements (exercise, mindfulness, sleep, social connectedness, and nutrition) individually, there is no research exploring the effectiveness of an integrated, prescriptive, and trackable wellness intervention combining these five elements specific to a cohort of patients with RA. Therefore, this work will be unique in that it will collect both objective and subjective data to assess the feasibility and effectiveness of this type of wellness intervention. It will lend support to the growing body of research on the efficacy of wellness interventions for a variety of different health conditions, as well as a community-based population. Finally, it is hoped that positive results will yield increased access to and utilization of this type of intervention, thereby improving public health. The recruitment period will be open for 12 months to obtain a maximum of 50 participants. The study population will be individuals, ages 18 and older, interested in improving their overall wellness and that self-identify as having Rheumatoid Arthritis and taking a biologic or a JAK inhibitor. Each participant will be engaged in the program for 30 days. To determine a participant's eligibility, study personnel will conduct a preliminary screening/orientation telephone interview. If the participant is determined to be eligible for the study based on the preliminary screening/orientation phone interview, study personnel will collect the participant's email address, physical mailing address, and assign the participant a unique identification code based on the order in which the participant was screened. The consent form outlines the purpose and design of the study, data to be collected, confidentiality standards, alternatives to participation, and contact information for research personnel. Participants will have the option to download a PDF of their signed consent form for their records at the time of signing/completion. Study personnel will mail each participant a KickStart30 Workbook within one day of emailing participants their unique identification codes. Participants will be instructed to document adherence of their daily wellness practices and their daily HERO exercises online via Qualtrics, an online survey software. Participants can document their daily adherence using their computer and/or their smartphone as Qualtrics offers a mobile version of the Participant Tracking Form. A copy of the Participant Tracking Form will also be available in the KickStart30 Workbook so participants that prefer keeping a daily paper log can do so, and they can then transfer their program adherence information to the online Participant Tracking Form at their convenience throughout the program. The workbook will contain the participant's personal identification code; no personal identification will appear in the workbook in order to protect participant confidentiality. Participants will also receive daily motivational emails from MailChimp, which will provide general information about one of the five wellness elements and/or one of the HERO wellness traits, as well as encouragement to track their participation on a daily basis, and encouragement to contact study personnel via email with any questions and/or concerns. Data capture will occur at two points: once prior to beginning the study and again at the end of the 30-day study. Data will be collected online through program forms; all data will be hosted on Qualtrics, an online survey software. Program Forms assess items including depression, anxiety, wellbeing, mindfulness, sleep quality, social connectedness, emotional eating, pain, disability, physical function, happiness, enthusiasm, resilience, and optimism in patients with RA. Descriptive statistics will be used to discuss pre- and post-intervention scores. Differences between pretest and 30-day measures will be assessed with repeated measures ANOVA, with a p value of less than 0.05 indicating statistical significance.