Abstract

Hand osteoarthritis (OA) is not a single disease but a group of complex conditions ranging from a syndrome of joint pain accompanied by functional limitation to highly characterised subsets of radiographic hand OA. Whilst hand OA is one of the commonest forms of osteoarthritis there is a “knowledge-to-practice” gap in recognising and addressing functional consequences of hand OA across the clinical pathway.

This presentation will consider functional consequences of hand OA at four levels: societal (population level); health care delivery (organisational level); health care professional level; and the impact on the person living with hand OA (individual level). It will draw on findings from three large cohorts of adults 50 years and over studied in North West Midlands, UK (n=30,000) (1–3) to describe the functional consequences of hand OA at a population level. Findings from a randomised controlled trial (3), an implementation study (4) and qualitative data (5) will be used to illustrate health care (e.g. primary care; occupational therapy) for the functional consequences of hand OA. The impact on the individual will be described using qualitative data of participant experiences of living with hand OA (6).

Proposals for closing the “knowledge-to-practice” gap for the functional consequences of hand OA will be discussed.