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Enrolling by Invitation

NCT Number: NCT06988163

Osteoarthritis Care Tools for Primary Care Providers

The purpose of this pilot study is to test OACareTools+, an intervention for healthcare providers that combines education, patient resources and support from a national organization, to help them make referrals of patients with arthritis to the Walk With Ease program. This intervention was designed to increase referrals of patients with arthritis to the Walk With Ease program.

Enrolling by Invitation

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Key information

Conditions

Arthritis Joint Diseases Musculoskeletal Diseases Osteo Arthritis Knee

Age range

18 year–99 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

UNC Thurston Arthritis Research Center

Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599, United States

About this study

Participants will be clinicians (n= 50) in a primary care practice and a subset of patients (n=10). The study team will deliver education and resources to providers in a training session about Walk With Ease. After the provider training, providers will use the study resources to refer patients with arthritis to Walk With Ease. Healthcare provider participants will complete surveys after their first referral and at the end of the study (12-months). Patient participants who are referred to Walk With Ease through the OACareTools+ intervention will participate in interviews about their experience (6-weeks) with the referral process. Primary endpoints of the study will be 1) number of healthcare providers that referred patients to Walk With Ease 2) number of Walk With Ease patient participants 3) healthcare provider acceptability and feasibility 4) patient acceptability of the intervention.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Healthcare provider participants: currently a healthcare provider or staff person in the UNC pilot clinic
  • Patient participants: 18 years or older; received a referral to Walk With Ease from a provider at the UNC pilot clinic; agreed to participate in the phone interview on the post-Walk With Ease evaluation form

Exclusion criteria

  • Both: non-English speaking

Treatment and study plan

OACareTools+

Behavioral

OACareTools+ is a healthcare provider intervention that combines healthcare provider education, customized patient and clinical resources, and technical support from a national organization to facilitate provider counseling on and referral to as well as patient engagement in Walk With Ease. There are 2 main parts to this intervention: 1) Healthcare provider education: The study team will deliver the provider education and resources (including information about Walk With Ease and the established referral process/smartphrase) in a presentation providers at a weekly clinician meeting and in follow-up emails. 2) Implementation: Providers will use the resources to briefly counsel patients about physical activity and Walk With Ease and use the smartphrase to refer patients to Walk With Ease. Patients will register for and participate in the online Walk With Ease program. Patients and providers can seek assistance from the national organization as needed during these processes.

Other names: Walk With Ease, Camine Con Gusto

Primary outcomes

  1. Number of healthcare providers who referred patients

    Time frame: 12 months

    Healthcare providers in the pilot clinic who refer patients to the Walk With Ease program using the study referral process and resources

  2. Number of patients who registered for Walk With Ease

    Time frame: 12 months

    Patients from the pilot clinic who are referred to and register in the Walk With Ease program

  3. Healthcare provider acceptability

    Time frame: Measure collected up to 2 months after provider's first referral

    The Acceptability of Intervention Measure is a measure of implementation outcomes, including 4 items ranked on a Likert scale of 1 (completely disagree) to 5 (completely agree), with a summed total ranging from 4-20 where higher scores indicate greater acceptability; measured via electronic survey.

  4. Healthcare provider feasibility

    Time frame: Measure collected up to 2 months after provider's first referral

    The Feasibility of Intervention Measure is a measure of implementation outcomes, including 4 items ranked on a Likert scale of 1 (completely disagree) to 5 (completely agree), with a summed total ranging from 4-20 where higher scores indicate greater feasibility; measured via electronic survey.

  5. Patient acceptability

    Time frame: 6-weeks post- Walk With Ease registration

    The Acceptability of Intervention Measure is a measure of implementation outcomes, including 4 items ranked on a Likert scale of 1 (completely disagree) to 5 (completely agree), with a summed total ranging from 4-20 where higher scores indicate greater acceptability; measured via telephone interview.

  6. Patient usefulness: educational resources

    Time frame: 6-weeks post- Walk With Ease registration

    During a phone interview, patients will be asked, "How helpful were the education materials given to you by your healthcare provider?" They will be asked to use a scale, 0-10, where 0 is not helpful at all and 10 is extremely helpful. Higher scores indicate greater levels of helpfulness.

  7. Patient usefulness: clinician referral to Walk With Ease

    Time frame: 6-weeks post- Walk With Ease registration

    During a phone interview, patients will be asked, "How helpful was it to talk with healthcare provider about physical activity and Walk With Ease?" They will be asked to use a scale, 0-10, where 0 is not helpful at all and 10 is extremely helpful. Higher scores indicate greater levels of helpfulness.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Other

Collaborators

  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Registry information

Official study title

OACareTools Primary Care-Led Usability & Scalability Pilot Study (OACareTools PLUS)

Acronym: OACareTools

Important dates

Study start
2025
Primary completion
2026
Study completion
2026
First posted
May 23, 2025
Registry last updated
Aug 28, 2025

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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