POS0166-PARE A TAILORED EDUCATION PROGRAM FOR VOLUNTEER INSTRUCTORS WHO LEADS EXERCISE FOR PEOPLE WITH RMDs

Background: The Norwegian Association of Rheumatic disease (NRF) offers a great deal of versatile exercise programs all over the county lead by volunteer instructors. However, the education to be an instructor varies, and this affects the potential quality and effects the participants could miss. Cardiovascular disease is one of the two leading causes of death in Norway [3]. People with rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory joint diseases have higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease compared to others [1]. New research on exercise with rheumatic disease shows both strength and aerobic training positively benefits as a treatment and can benefit from training at a much higher intensity than previously they were warn about. It`s recommended to apply high intensity exercise to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. The high intensity exercise shows a reduction in inflammation because of high intensity on the body [4,6,2]. Objectives: To develop a standardized education for volunteer instructors for people with RDMs. Methods: New research from the national competence center for rheumatic rehabilitation gave us a perfect theoretic and practical base. We created a pre-course digitalized e-learning program whereas the participants learn a short and structural theory about the anatomy and physiology of the human body. The main course content focuses on health benefits from increased intensity within strength and aerobic training, mobility training, exercise in water, the instructor's role and behavior, common disease theory, peer support introduction and the newest research. The course includes a complete "how to" guidance for those who arrange. Results: From project start in 2017 the course has been completed minimum 13 times all over Norway, with more than 220 participants. These new instructors did a step-by-step education which is the e-learning, main course, and a task to do before they get approved. These instructors lead weekly exercise in water, gyms and outdoors. High intensity exercise has not only become increasingly accepted, but also applied in much greater extent than before. The fact that numerus of our instructors themselves have experience of living with a chronic illness strengthens their credibility and understanding of the participant, and this creates a higher level of trust. The standardized education setup is easy to change due to creating more videos, and the documents are simple to change. With 220 instructors and an average of fifteen participants per class we can estimate an impact of about 3300 persons with weekly with important health related research. Furthermore, the practical experience og higher intensity aerobic exercise in warm water have led to research on high intensity interval training in people with RMDs at Oslo Metropolitan university. Conclusion: A standardized quality and research-based education for instructors who leads people with RDMs has an enormous potential to enhance physical function, physical capacity and reduce the burden of diseases and risk of comorbidity. REFERENCES: [1] Agca, R., Heslinga, C., Rollefstad, S., Heslinga, M., McInnes, I., Peters, M.,... et.al. (2017). EULAR recommendations for cardiovascular disease risk management in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and other forms of inflammatory joint disorders: 2015/2016 update. BMJ, 76, ss. 17-28. [2] Diakonhjemmet Sykehus. (2020). Diakonhjemmet Sykehus. Obtained: https://diakonhjemmetsykehus.no/nkrr/klinisk-verktoykasse [3] Folkehelseinstituttet. (2020). Cardiovascular diseases in Norway. [4] Rehn, Winett, Wisloff, & Rognmo. (2013). Increasing physical activity of high intensity to reduce the prevalence of chronic diseases and improve public health. Open Cardiovasc Med J, pp. 1-8. [5] Semb. (2020). Håndbok om hjerte- og karsykdom blant pasienter med leddgikt. Obtained: https://revmabloggen.com/2017/03/20/viktig-handbok-om-hjerte-og-karsykdom-blant-pasienter-med-leddgikt/ [6] Sveaas, Berg, Provan, Semb, Hagen, Vøllestad,... Dagfinrud. (2014). Efficacy of high intensity exercise on disease activity and cardiovascular risk in active axial spondylarthritis: a randomized controlled pilot study. Acknowledgements: i want to acknowledge all participatns contributing in this prosject. Disclosure of Interests: None declared.