Abstract Background/Aims Consistent monitoring ofdisease activity is essential for thorough clinical assessment and forinforming the delivery of modern therapeutic strategies in rheumatologicalconditions. In children and young people with JIA, disease activity is commonlyassessed using the juvenile arthritis disease activity score (JADAS). Manychildren and young people experience JIA into adulthood, however, the JADAS isnot validated in adults with JIA. Instead, when those with JIA move into adultcare, rheumatologists tend to use the disease activity score (DAS), developedfor adults with rheumatoid arthritis. For individuals with JIA, havingdifferent measures of disease activity used throughout the life coursecontributes to a lack of consistent evaluation of their arthritis. If a singlemeasure was used, it would facilitate the provision of consistent care throughthe life course into adult services and provide better measures of disease forlife course research studies. The aim of this research is to investigate healthcare professionals’perceptions on using the JADAS in clinical and research settings, including theusefulness, feasibility, and relevance, as a usable and feasible diseaseactivity measure in adults with JIA. Methods An online survey was created to address the research aims and shared amongst the international rheumatology community, specifically targeting healthcare professionals who see adults with JIA in clinic. The questions consisted of demographic information (country, institution type, specialty), familiarity with the JADAS, availability and length of time to collect the JADAS components, and the relevance, barriers, feasibility, and usefulness of the JADAS to assess disease activity in adults with JIA. Results A total of 75 clinicians who saw adults with JIA in clinic responded to the survey, from 13 different countries. Many (63%) of the respondents were already familiar or very familiar with the JADAS, with over one-fifth frequently using the JADAS in clinic. Overall, 83% reported that it would be feasible or very feasible to use the JADAS as a measure of disease activity in adults with JIA, with 98% reporting that it would be useful to have a validated tool to assess disease activity in the adult JIA population. Most respondents reported that the individual JADAS components would be available prior to, or easy to collect during (i.e. takes less than 5 minutes) each clinic appointment. However, the main barrier reported for currently not using the JADAS in adults with JIA was because it was not a validated tool. Conclusion According to healthcare professionals, the JADAS is a relevant and feasible tool to use in clinical practice to assess disease activity of adults with JIA. It was evident that healthcare professionals want the JADAS tool to be validated to assess disease activity in adults with JIA, therefore, the patient perspective is now being explored. Disclosure L. Kearsley-Fleet: None. R.R. Lee: None. J.H. Humphreys: None. A. Rebollo-Giménez: None. V. Rypdal: None. J. Bethencourt Baute: None. J. Antón: None. M. Santos: None. E. Mateus: None. C. Gomes: None. A. Consolaro: None. S. Shoop-Worrall: None. F. Oliverira Ramos: None.
Kearsley-Fleet et al. (Wed,) studied this question.