Research priorities for physical activity and exercise management of people with knee and hip osteoarthritis: A multi-stage international priority-setting study from the OARSI Rehabilitation Discussion Group

Abstract

Objective: To identify research priorities for physical activity and exercise management of knee and hip osteoarthritis (OA). Design: We used a multi-stage process involving an international multi-disciplinary panel of 276 experts (150 consumers, 69 clinicians spanning 5 disciplines, 54 researchers, and 3 funder/consumer organisation Results: A list of 61 research questions was compiled from the literature and the panel generated an additional 346 questions. Following consolidation, 178 questions remained and were scored by 150 of the original panelists (54%), with mean priority scores from 5.0 to 8.4. 153 (55%) panelists completed the discrete choice experiment. The top three research priorities were: 1) investigating the impact of physical activity and exercise on delaying/avoiding joint replacement, 2) developing effective interventions to promote long-term exercise adherence, and 3) stratifying people to the most appropriate form of exercise support. Conclusion: We identified research priorities about physical activity and exercise management of knee and hip OA. These will guide the international research agenda with the aim of improving outcomes for people with OA.