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COVID-19 support

There are a number of ways in which you can support your ESCAPE-pain participants/ waiting lists to manage their condition until you are able to resume classes. Please see below for suggested ideas.

We would like to thank all ESCAPE-pain sites, providers and facilitators for your continued engagement over the past two years, which we know have been extremely challenging. We would be grateful if you could keep us updated with any further progress at your sites by emailing escape-pain@oruk.org.

1. National guidance for delivering clinical interventions

Depending on the nature of your organisation you may face organisational or local restrictions for delivering face-to-face interventions. Please ensure you follow your local guidance, policies and procedures whilst also taking into account, where relevant, guidance coming from the following:

2. ESCAPE-pain online

ESCAPE-pain Online is the web-based version of the ESCAPE-pain app. It is a digital version of the face-to-face programme and provides users with a structured education and exercise programme of 12 sessions over six weeks. There are two compulsory sessions per week and they are a combination of education and exercise. It can be viewed on a range of mobile devices (like smartphones and tablets) but is best viewed on a computer. It is especially helpful for people who would prefer to view the programme on a larger screen or who don’t have access to a smart phone.

3. ESCAPE-pain app - Android

Similarly, the ESCAPE-pain app is a digital version of the face-to-face programme and provides users with a structured education and exercise programme of 12 sessions over six weeks. There are two compulsory sessions per week and they are a combination of education and exercise. It is available on Android smartphones and tablets. Just search ESCAPE-pain on Google Play.

The digital products (App and Webapp) were originally designed as an aide memoir for ESCAPE-pain participants to use after they had completed the face-to-face programme, however we feel these tools may be of benefit to a much wider audience of people living with knee/ hip pain/ osteoarthritis who have not previously attended a face-to-face class.

4. ESCAPE-pain videos

These videos were developed for the ESCAPE-pain digital tools, the app and ESCAPE-pain Online (our web-based app). We have made the videos freely available so that people don’t need to create an account to view them and for people who don’t wish to follow a structured programme (like the app and ESCAPE-pain Online) and just want a reminder of how to do an exercise.

The exercise videos are designed so that the exercises could be done in a home setting using everyday household items like chairs or steps. They are simple and easy to follow with audio instructions.

The educational videos – these videos can be viewed at any time to learn more about your joint pain. They give simple advice and information to help people learn about how to better manage their condition.

5. Deliver the programme virtually

Some ESCAPE-pain sites are delivering a virtual programme based on ESCAPE-pain. We have pulled together their experiences and developed a FAQ resource to support with virtual delivery. If you would like a copy of this please contact the central team on hello@escape-pain.org. This information will be updated over time as we learn more about this model.

We are supporting sites to run virtual programmes where they are delivered in the following way.

  • sessions are delivered twice weekly;
  • sessions are delivered across an interactive platform which allows facilitators and participants to speak to one another;
  • there is a fixed cohort starting and finishing together;
  • the education and exercise sessions are delivered in real time;
  • clinical outcomes are collected.

6. Supporting ESCAPE-pain participants with no access to the Internet or digital devices

We recognise many of the tools that are being recommended to support people to keep active in their homes during COVID-19 require access to smart devices, laptops, the Internet etc. Importantly, they also require people to feel comfortable and able to use of these tools effectively.

Depending on your service and if you have access to printing facilities you may wish to send printed copies of some of these resources to your participants, or email it to them or a family member if they are able to print them out themselves.

View list of resources.