Trial reportBMC public health2024
How the Plants for Joints multidisciplinary lifestyle intervention achieved its effects: a mixed methods process evaluation.
Trial report in BMC public health, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 9 citations in OpenAlex.
- Impact of early multidisciplinary team interventions on dietary management behavior in breast cancer patients: a pilot randomized controlled trial.BMC cancer · 2025Trial
- Exploring participant experiences with the autoimmune protocol (AIP) diet in rheumatoid arthritis: a longitudinal qualitative study.Journal of nutritional science · 2026Article
- Barriers and facilitators for consuming a plant-based diet in patients with knee osteoarthritis: a qualitative study.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Article
- Effect of a multidisciplinary lifestyle intervention on stress-related parameters in people with rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis: secondary analysis of the "Plants for Joints" randomized controlled trial.Comprehensive psychoneuroendocrinology · 2025Article
- Two-Year Follow-Up of a Multidisciplinary Lifestyle Intervention for Rheumatoid Arthritis and Osteoarthritis.Arthritis care & research · 2025Article
- Rheumatoid arthritis: a comprehensive overview of genetic markers, emerging therapies, and personalized medicine.Annals of medicine and surgery (2012) · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundPlants for Joints (PFJ) is a multidisciplinary intervention centered around a whole-food plant-based diet, physical activity, and sleep and stress management. The PFJ intervention successfully improved disease activity and symptoms in people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or osteoarthritis (OA), respectively, and metabolic health. To investigate how these effects were achieved a mixed methods process evaluation was conducted to understand the context, implementation, and mechanism of impact of the PFJ intervention. Also, the relationship between degree of implementation and lifestyle changes was explored.
methodsQuantitative and qualitative data were collected across the evaluation domains context (i.e. reach), implementation (i.e. recruitment and delivery), and mechanism of impact (i.e. responsiveness) of both the participants and coaches (incl. dietitians, sport coaches) according to the UK MRC guidelines for process evaluations. Data was collected from the participants via focus groups and questionnaires after the intervention, and interviews with coaches. Qualitative data were analyzed thematically, and quantitative data were assessed with descriptive statistics and linear regression analyses. Degree of implementation was quantified using a theory-driven implementation index score composed of different process evaluation constructs.
resultsOf the 155 participants who participated in the PFJ intervention, 106 (68%) took part in the questionnaire and 34 (22%) attended a focus group. Participants felt the intervention was complete, coherent, and would recommend the intervention to others (mean score 9.2 (SD 1.4) out of 10). Participants felt heard and empowered to take control of their lifestyle and health outcomes. Components perceived as most useful were self-monitoring, social support, practical and theoretical information, and (individual) guidance by the multidisciplinary team. Participants perceived the intervention as feasible, and many indicated it effectively improved their health outcomes. In an explorative analysis there was no significant difference in healthy lifestyle changes across implementation index score groups.
conclusionThis process evaluation offers important insights into why the PFJ intervention works and how the intervention can be optimized for future implementation. Results indicating the intervention's high satisfaction, feasibility, and perceived effectiveness, further support the use of plant-based lifestyle interventions as an additional treatment option for patients with RA, OA, or other chronic diseases.
trial registrationInternational Clinical Trial Registry Platform numbers: NL7800, NL7801, and NL7802, all registered 17-06-2019.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.