The Effectiveness of Patient Education and Self-management Program on Pain and Disability Among Adult Patients With Osteoarthritis: An Overview of Systematic Reviews.

OBJECTIVE

To estimate the effectiveness of patient education and self-management interventions for osteoarthritis (OA) in adults aged ≥18 years.

DESIGN

Overview of intervention systematic reviews (SRs). LITERATURE SEARCH: Eight databases (MEDLINE [Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online], Cochrane Library, EMBASE [Excerpta Medica Database], Epistemonikos, Web of Science, Scopus, PEDro [Physiotherapy Evidence Database], and CINAHL [Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature]) were searched from inception to June 26, 2024. STUDY SELECTION CRITERIA: We included intervention SRs, with or without meta-analysis (MA), that evaluated patient education or self-management interventions for adults with OA, reporting pain or functional outcomes. DATA SYNTHESIS: Data were extracted using a standardized template. We extracted intervention effects on pain and function. Methodological quality was evaluated using the AMSTAR-2 (A Measurement Tool to Assess Systematic Reviews) checklist. We assessed the overlap of studies included in the SRs using the corrected covered area (CCA) method.

RESULTS

Nineteen SRs (12 with MA) encompassing 171 trials were included. Patient education interventions had modest effects on reducing short-term pain (standardized mean difference [SMD], -0.22 to -0.35). There were no sustained or consistent effects of patient education interventions on function. Self-management interventions yielded small and consistent effects on reducing pain (SMDs ranging approximately from -0.20 to -1.51) and improving function (SMDs up to 1.95), especially over the long term and when combined with patient education. Methodological quality was generally low; 1 SR was rated as high quality. There was a slight overlap among included trials (CCAs of 1.5% for patient education and 4.6% for self-management).

CONCLUSION

Self-management interventions, particularly when integrated with patient education or other therapies, may offer more robust and lasting benefits for OA management than patient education alone. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 2026;56(3):176-192. Epub 4 February 2026. doi:10.2519/jospt.2026.13407.