# Physical Activity Pathway for Patients with Osteoarthritis in Primary Care

> **NIH NIH R33** · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · 2020 · $370,238

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Osteoarthritis (OA) is a leading cause of pain and disability among older adults. Physical activity (PA) is critical
for managing OA and improves many outcomes including physical function and disability risk. Unfortunately
the vast majority of individuals with OA are physically inactive, with only 10% meeting PA recommendations.
There is a critical need to improve PA levels in this vulnerable patient group. The proposed project will develop
and test an OA primary care Physical activity Care Pathway (OA-PCP), a scalable intervention that includes: 1)
a practical process for physical inactivity screening in primary care, 2) a brief, tailored PA counseling
intervention via telephone, 3) connection of patients with community programs and other resources to support
PA, and 4) follow-up with patients to deliver additional appropriate counseling and referrals to PA resources.
The OA-PCP is designed with implementation and sustainability in mind, particularly modeled for delivery in
the context of billable Chronic Care Management services. Aim 1 of the project will involve focus groups and
structured interviews with patients who have OA, primary care providers, and community / clinical PA program
leaders to develop the OA-PCP. Aim 2 will assess the feasibility and acceptability of the OA-PCP among n=60
patients with hip and knee OA in two primary care clinics. All patients in the trial will participate in the OA-PCP
and will complete assessments at baseline and 4-month follow-up. Feasibility metrics will include rates of
recruitment, intervention engagement and retention; acceptability will be assessed from both patients and
health care providers. Aim 3 will involve a randomized pilot trial assessing the efficacy of the refined OA-PCP
(from Aims 1 and 2) among n=240 patients with knee and hip OA in six diverse primary care clinics. Patients in
the study will be randomized to the OA-PCP or an attention control group and will complete assessments at
baseline, 6-months and 12-months. The primary outcome will be objectively assessed physical activity,
measured via accelerometry. Linear mixed models will compare outcomes between the OA-PCP and attention
control groups. The OA-PCP will be designed for widespread implementation and therefore has strong
potential to improve PA among individuals with OA at a population health level. This series of exploratory /
developmental projects will set the stage for and inform the development of a large, multisite implementation-
focused study of the OA-PCP.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10148287
- **Project number:** 4R33AG056568-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL
- **Principal Investigator:** Kelli D. Allen
- **Activity code:** R33 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $370,238
- **Award type:** 4N
- **Project period:** 2018-06-01 → 2022-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10148287

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10148287, Physical Activity Pathway for Patients with Osteoarthritis in Primary Care (4R33AG056568-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10148287. Licensed CC0.

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