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MISSION-RA

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To develop an intervention to help people living with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) “move more”, to improve RA outcomes.

We are looking to recruit a Patient Committee to be involved in a the “MovIng to Support Sustained Improvement of Outcomes iN Rheumatoid Arthritis – MISSION-RA” research study, funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).

The study is being conducted by the University of Birmingham, in collaboration with researchers at the University of Oxford, Loughborough University, and the Universities of Bristol and Southampton. It started at the end of 2021 and will finish in 2026.

The MISSION-RA study aims to develop a new way to help people with Rheumatoid Arthritis increase their daily physical activity. This will be done through designing a wearable activity tracker and linked mobile health app. The tracker and MISSION-RA app will be personalised specifically for people with Rheumatoid Arthritis using artificial intelligence.

We need people to provide feedback on:

  • The study website.
  • Written information specifically for people living with Rheumatoid Arthritis.
  • Trying out the wearable tracker and app.

The University of Birmingham will contact you as opportunities arise, but you only need to provide input and feedback as and when your own personal circumstances allow. Your involvement would be on a casual basis, to allow for flexibility. Your feedback will provide input on all stages of the study:

  • Study 1 (March 2022 – September 2023)
    • Develop a computer programme which can be used to personalise the MISSION-RA app so it meets the needs of people living with Rheumatoid Arthritis.
  • Study 2 (March 2022 – June 2024).
    • Help the research team design the MISSION-RA app. This will help to decide what the app should do, what it looks like and how it works.
  • Study 3 (June 2024 – April 2026).
    • Test the MISSION-RA app to see if people living with Rheumatoid Arthritis use it, like it and are motivated by it.

We are looking for members to join the MISSION-RA Patient Committee who are over 18 years old, and able to walk either independently, or with the use of an assistive device.

If you are thinking ‘I don’t have experience in any of the above areas’, that doesn’t matter at all and we are not expecting you to have, because the researchers involved in this study do and they are most interested in your experience of living with Rheumatoid Arthritis and how this impacts your ability to be physically active. They simply want to be able to present ideas and get your thoughts on what you think. It does not matter whether you currently take part in any physical activity or not, we are interested in hearing the views and opinions of people who currently do no or very little physical activity, as well as those who may be more physically active.

Would you like to be part of the Patient Committee? – we anticipate that we will need about 20 people so you will be working with others who also have RA.

If you are interested in contributing to the MISSION-RA study, then please get in touch with sallym@nras.org.uk.

February 2022