This study aims to analyze rheumatologist and patient mental models in order to inform interventions for rheumatoid arthritis that adopt the “target to treat” (TTT) approach, which adjusts treatment to achieve a target based on disease status and activity. The Mental Models Approach to Risk Communication was utilized, along with interviews and open-ended surveys with both rheumatologists and patients in order to gather information about each group’s knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes regarding treatment of RA. Some differences were that physicians emphasized the process of generating a disease activity score, while patients did not and rather found the patient readiness domain extremely important in this approach. Researchers found that several additional discrepancies exist in regards to information gaps and factors between patients and physicians, which can be used to better develop and increase implementation of interventions that utilize the TTT method for this disease.
