Remote Osteoarthritis Peer Mentorship for Socioeconomically Underserved People (RaMIgO): Final Project Report

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common joint condition mainly affecting older people. Hip and knee OA can cause high levels of pain, social isolation and difficulty with daily activities. OA is more common in people experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage, and its impact is more severe in this group. Supported self-management strategies, including peer support, could help people with OA who are experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage to manage their symptoms better. However, no previous studies have specifically addressed this area. This project aimed to develop a remote peer mentorship programme for people with hip and knee OA who are experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage and explore if the programme is acceptable and useful. In Phase 1, we adapted an existing in-person OA peer mentorship programme for remote delivery to people experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage. This involved carrying out focus groups/interviews with 20 participants, participatory workshops with 15 stakeholders, and mentorship delivery practice runs with four Patient and Public Involvement members. In Phase 2, we trained 14 volunteer peer mentors to deliver the six-week mentorship programme. In Phase 3, thirteen peer mentors delivered mentorship sessions to 30 participants. We collected information about all 30 participants’ health and wellbeing via questionnaires at baseline and carried out semi-structured interviews with 22 participants at six weeks, 17 participants at six months, and 12 peer mentors after they had delivered the mentorship programme. The findings suggested remote delivery of the mentorship programme was feasible and acceptable, with many participants reporting they had gained OA knowledge and/or skills from the programme. In addition, both peer mentors and participants reported enjoying the programme. However, participants’ attendance at the mentorship sessions was variable, with just under two thirds of mentees completing five or six sessions. At the end of the project, we carried out two stakeholder discussion forums with 12 attendees. These identified strategies that could help optimise the success of the mentorship programme in the real world by addressing the importance of peer mentor-mentee rapport, supporting mentees to prioritise self-management, and ensuring peer mentors receive suitable support.