The cohort includes first grade relatives of patients with an Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by progressive joint destruction, extra-articular manifestations and permanent disability. RA is the most prevalent systemic rheumatic disease affecting approximately 1% of the adult population.
The study subjects are included in the database and fill in an annual questionnaire. The data thus gained gives information as to which subjects develop RA.
The developed web-application contains an annual as well as an inclusion
questionnaire. Further it contains a management interface to manage subjects
and gained data.
The questionnaires features complex dependencies to facilitate the process of
filling in the questionnaire: Questions that a subject, due to his/her
previous answers, does not have to answer are not asked.
Should a filled-in questionnaire show signs of newly developed RA the subject
appears in a special list and can be invited for a visit.
All data can be exported in structured files.
The application also contains a reminder system that invites subjects
periodically to fill in the questionnaire. Subjects do not have their own user
account but receive a new unique URL to the questionnaire with the reminder
mail. If the questionnaire is not filled in within a defined time period, the
subject gets a second reminder mail with the invitation.
The application is multilingual and is currently available in english, german and french. It was designed to be used in a medical environment but is easily adapted to be used in any other environment.