Grant: Planning and Dissemination Grant - Institute Community Support

Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is becoming more common in middle-aged adults due to growing rates of obesity. People are undergoing joint replacement surgeries at an earlier age than before. This, along with longer wait times for surgeries and growing OA-related costs, warrants early diagnosis and treatment in knee OA. However, even though we know that exercise is effective in prevention of knee OA, disease control in knee OA continues to remain a challenge. Our previous focus group study in Quebec with patients with knee OA, general public and health professionals showed that people generally lacked knowledge about knee OA risk factors and prevention. Health professionals were also unsure about who should discuss prevention in knee OA and which population should be targeted for prevention. The health/ wellness sector (e.g. gyms, community leisure centres, etc.) provides an excellent area to develop plans for early OA care, especially since people having risk for knee OA often use these services for family and/or personal use. Indeed, Bone and Joint Canada (BJC) is undertaking several national programs involving these settings to promote early care in knee OA. A meeting will therefore be held with active involvement of BJC to bring together clinicians, researchers, patients advocates, health/ wellness sector, government and industry representatives, to identify strategies, opportunities and challenges in developing plans for early knee OA care in Quebec. It will also provide an opportunity to explore if existing BJC programs can be adapted in Quebec. This is a first step in a research agenda to ensure care for early knee OA is available and easily accessible. The entire activity is expected to start by August 1, 2015 and end by Jan 31, 2016.