Objective: The purpose was to evaluate changes in self-reported competencies following an education program among parents of children with juvenile chronic arthritis (JCA) and among adolescents with JCA.
Methods: The self-reported, 24-item MEPS questionnaire was used for evaluating the program. Fifty-five parents and 11 adolescents completed the questionnaire before, directly after, and four months after the eight-hour program.
Results: Parents in the education program improved significantly concerning their self-reported competencies on medical, exercise, pain and social support issues, while the adolescents showed only minor improvement. The parents' positive development in some comparisons was also significant in relation to that of a non-educated group, whose responses remained mainly unchanged over the four months.
Conclusion: Given the advantages of the education program indicated in the study, parent education should be a self-evident part of the treatment in JCA.