Various studies show that nearly half of patients suffering from a chronic disease such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) do not properly follow their therapies. The reasons for non-compliance are multiple. Chronic illness, by definition, is extended in time. Therefore, patients may experience moments of discouragement, the occurrence of intercurrent pathologies, a denial of the illness, or the occurrence of an external personal event leading to the neglect or discontinuation of treatment.

Improving adherence requires personal explanations and individualized medical follow-up. Therapeutic education can provide very useful additional support in those chronic diseases.

A therapeutic education program for polyarthritis patients was implemented in our service since five years. This is a stepwise process, integrated into the nursing process, comprising a set of activities including information on the disease and its treatment, learning of joint economy/saving, and psychological assistance. The objective is to lead the patient to the acceptance and appropriation of the illness. Assessment of this program included satisfaction, pain, quality of life, psychological profile and compliance before and three months after the program.

Sixty patients followed the three months session of follow-up. Satisfaction scale rated 9.06/10 on the numeric scale. We observed a significant decrease in pain, HAQ and the HAD with a significant improvement in adherence (in 2/3 of cases).

It appears clearly that an educational program in addition to conventional medical programs has a positive effect on adherence of our RA patients who become “partners patients”.