Respondent characteristics and responses to health provision access from online survey at baseline
| Characteristics | Frequency (%) | |
| N | 703 | |
| Gender | Female | 574 (82.0) |
| Male | 126 (18.0) | |
| Non-binary | 1 (0.1) | |
| Prefer to self-describe | 1 (0.1) | |
| Prefer not to say | 1 (0.1) | |
| Age (years) | 18–30 | 21 (3.0) |
| 31–40 | 44 (6.3) | |
| 41–50 | 113 (16.1) | |
| 51–60 | 173 (24.6) | |
| 61–70 | 203 (28.9) | |
| 71–80 | 132 (18.8) | |
| 80+ | 16 (2.3) | |
| Region of respondent | England | 660 (93.9) |
| Scotland | 21 (3.0) | |
| Wales | 19 (2.7) | |
| Northern Ireland | 2 (0.3) | |
| Ethnic group | White | 682 (97.8) |
| Mixed/multiple ethnic group | 4 (0.6) | |
| Asian | 7 (1.0) | |
| Black, African and Caribbean | 3 (0.4) | |
| Arab | 1 (0.1) | |
| RMD diagnosis | Rheumatoid arthritis | 311 (44.2) |
| Osteoarthritis | 152 (21.6) | |
| Mechanical low back pain | 70 (9.9) | |
| Fibromyalgia | 68 (9.6) | |
| Psoriatic arthritis | 64 (9.1) | |
| Inflammatory polyarthritis | 63 (8.9) | |
| Hypermobility | 40 (5.6) | |
| Specific RMD diagnosis not reported | 33 (4.7) | |
| Connective tissue disease (eg, lupus, scleroderma and myositis) | 25 (3.5) | |
| Ankylosing spondylitis | 22 (3.1) | |
| Osteoporosis | 18 (2.5) | |
| Polymyalgia rheumatica | 10 (1.4) | |
| Ligament/tendon injury/bursitis | 9 (1.3) | |
| Neck pain | 6 (0.8) | |
| Gout | 5 (0.7) | |
| Other | 63 (8.9) | |
| How have your RMD symptoms been since the COVID-19 measures started? | Decreased | 45 (6.5) |
| Stayed the same | 287 (41.1) | |
| Increased | 365 (52.4) | |
| Pain (scale: 0–10) | Mean (SD) | 4.8 (2.6) |
| General health (scale: 0–10) | Mean (SD) | 4.1 (2.4) |
| Total Lubben Social Network Score (scale: 0–30) | Mean (SD) | 14.8 (5.5) |
| Total UCLA Loneliness (scale: 3–9) | Mean (SD) | 5.1 (2.0) |
| Difficulty accessing medication | Yes | 82 (11.7) |
| No | 616 (88.3) | |
| Required someone to help access medications | Yes | 309 (44.3) |
| No | 389 (55.7) | |
| Changed medications since COVID-19 outbreak | Yes | 103 (14.8) |
| No | 595 (85.2) | |
| Required to seek advice from a health professional on condition | Yes | 252 (36.1) |
| No | 446 (63.9) | |
| Who did you contact | General practitioner | 158 (22.3) |
| Practice nurse/GP nurse practitioner | 23 (3.2) | |
| Rheumatology department | 97 (13.7) | |
| Physiotherapy or occupational therapist | 16 (2.3) | |
| Pharmacist | 16 (2.3) | |
| Hospital department (non-RMD) | 10 (1.4) | |
| A&E | 3 (0.4) | |
| Private chiropractor, osteopath or massage therapist | 1 (0.1) | |
| Royal Osteoporosis Society | 1 (0.1) | |
| Endocrinology department | 7 (1.0) | |
| Pain clinic | 2 (0.3) | |
| Counsellor or health psychologist | 2 (0.3) | |
| Massage therapist | 1 (0.1) | |
| Podiatrist | 1 (0.1) | |
| Nutritionist | 1 (0.1) | |
| NHS 111 | 2 (0.3) | |
| How easy has it been to get advice? (scale: 0–10) | (Mean (SD) value (scale 0–10) | 4.8 (3.3) |
A&E, accident and emergency; JIA, juvenile inflammatory arthritis; NHS, National Health Service; RMD, rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases; UCLA, University of California Los Angeles Loneliness Score.