Completed

Disclosure and Skills Training for Rheumatoid Arthritis

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What is being tested

Coping skills training

+ Arthritis education
+ Written emotional disclosure
Behavioral
Who is being recruted

Arthritis
+5

+ Arthritis, Rheumatoid
+ Autoimmune Diseases
From 18 to 80 Years
See all eligibility criteria
How is the trial designed

Phase 2
Interventional
Study Start: February 2005
See protocol details

Summary

Principal SponsorWayne State University
Last updated: January 14, 2026
Sourced from a government-validated database.Claim as a partner
Study start date: February 1, 2005Actual date on which the first participant was enrolled.

Two self-management strategies hold promise for improving the health of people with RA: ED (writing about stress, RA, and coping options) and CST (learning six pain and stress coping skills). A strategy integrating ED with CST may be more effective than either intervention alone. This study will compare the effectiveness of ED, CST, ED in combination with CST, and control groups in alleviating the symptoms of RA. This study will last until May 2009. Participants with RA will be randomly assigned to 1 of 4 treatment groups. Each participant will receive 3 writing sessions and 8 training sessions. Group 1 will receive ED writing followed by CST; Group 2 will receive ED writing followed by arthritis education; Group 3 will receive health behavior writing followed by CST; and Group 4 will receive health behavior writing followed by arthritis education. Participants will be evaluated at baseline and at Months 1, 4, and 12 for pain, physical disability, psychological impairment, and disease activity. In addition, participants will record daily diaries for 30 days regarding their pain, symptoms, coping, stress, and mood prior to each of the evaluations. Changes in health status over time will be compared among groups.

Official TitleDisclosure and Skills Training for Rheumatoid Arthritis 
NCT00088764
Principal SponsorWayne State University
Last updated: January 14, 2026
Sourced from a government-validated database.Claim as a partner

Protocol

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.
Design Details
280 patients to be enrolledTotal number of participants that the clinical trial aims to recruit.

How participants are assigned to different groups/arms
In this clinical study, participants are placed into groups randomly, like flipping a coin. This ensures that the study is fair and unbiased, making the results more reliable. By assigning participants by chance, researchers can better compare treatments without external influences.

Other Ways to Assign Participants
Non-randomized allocation: Participants are assigned based on specific factors, such as their medical condition or a doctor's decision.
None (Single-arm trial): If the study has only one group, all participants receive the same treatment, and no allocation is needed.

How treatments are given to participants
Participants receive different combinations of treatments to see how they work together. This approach helps researchers determine whether a combination of treatments is more effective than a single treatment alone.

Other Ways to Assign Treatments
Single-group assignment: Everyone gets the same treatment.
Parallel assignment: Participants are split into separate groups, each receiving a different treatment.
Cross-over assignment: Participants switch between treatments during the study.
Sequential assignment: Participants receive treatments one after another in a specific order, possibly based on individual responses.
Other assignment: Treatment assignment does not follow a standard or predefined design.

How the effectiveness of the treatment is controlled
In a non placebo-controlled study, no participants receive an inert substance (placebo) to compare outcomes. Instead, all participants receive either the experimental treatment or an alternative treatment (often the Standard of Care). This method allows researchers to compare the effects of the experimental treatment with those of a different active intervention, rather than a placebo.

Other Options
Placebo-Controlled: A placebo is used to compare the effects of the experimental treatment with those of an inert substance, isolating the true treatment effect.

How the interventions assigned to participants is kept confidential
Everyone involved in the study knows which treatment is being given. This is typically used when it's not possible or necessary to hide the treatment details from participants or researchers.

Other Ways to Mask Information
Single-blind: Participants do not know which treatment they are receiving, but researchers do.
Double-blind: Neither participants nor researchers know which treatment is given.
Triple-blind: Participants, researchers, and outcome assessors do not know which treatment is given.
Quadruple-blind: Participants, researchers, outcome assessors, and care providers all do not know which treatment is given.

Eligibility

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria: person's general health condition or prior treatments.
Conditions
Criteria
Any sexBiological sex of participants that are eligible to enroll.
From 18 to 80 YearsRange of ages for which participants are eligible to join.
Healthy volunteers not allowedIf individuals who are healthy and do not have the condition being studied can participate.
Conditions
Pathology
Arthritis
Arthritis, Rheumatoid
Autoimmune Diseases
Connective Tissue Diseases
Immune System Diseases
Joint Diseases
Musculoskeletal Diseases
Rheumatic Diseases
Criteria

Inclusion Criteria: * Meet American College of Rheumatology (ACR) 1987 criteria for RA Exclusion Criteria: * Other disorders that would significantly affect function (e.g., lupus, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease \[COPD\], congestive heart failure \[CHF\], cancer) * Judged by the physician to have cognitive impairment (dementia, retardation, psychosis) or illiteracy * Has experienced recent (last 6 months) significant stressor resulting in substantial emotional instability * Currently in psychotherapy or a formal behavioral pain management program * Unable to walk. Participants who use walking aids are not excluded. * Physically unable to write

Study Plan

Find out more about all the medication administered in this study, their detailed description and what they involve.
Treatment Groups
Study Objectives
2 intervention groups 

are designated in this study

This study does not include a placebo group 

Treatment Groups
Group I
Experimental
Education: Either coping skills training or arthritis education interventions

8 sessions of pain and stress coping skills training

8 sessions of learning about rheumatoid arthritis
Group II
Experimental
Writing: Either emotional disclosure writing or health behavior writing

4 sessions of writing about stress

4 sessions of writing about various health behaviors
Study Objectives
Primary Objectives

Secondary Objectives

Study Centers

These are the hospitals, clinics, or research facilities where the trial is being conducted. You can find the location closest to you and its status.
This study has 2 locations
Suspended
Wayne State UniversityDetroit, United StatesSee the location
Suspended
Duke University Medical CenterDurham, United States
Completed2 Study Centers
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