跳至主要内容

Assessment of Knowledge and Attitude in a Sample of Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis and Its Association with Disease Activity and Severity: A Cross-Sectional Study

Read full paper at:
http://www.scirp.org/journal/PaperInformation.aspx?PaperID=51147#.VFbi92fHRK0

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic and disabling disease that has a major impact on the lives of patients. Objectives: To test the patients’ knowledge about their disease, it’s treatment, its complications, and if this affects severity of the disease as measured by the disease activity index (DAS 28). Patients and Methods: A sample of 100 patients with RA who met the Criteria of American College of Rheumatology for RA agreed to participate in this study over the period September 2011-March 2012. Patients’ data were obtained by personal interview. The questionnaire included demographic characteristics and the patients’ knowledge about their disease. The disease activity was measured using standard (DAS28). Results: Thirty three percent of the patients didn’t have an idea about their disease, 20% didn’t know the reason for the investigations, 49% didn’t know the treatment and 40% didn’t know the side effects of their medications. Most patients had a high disease activity index, and there was a poor correlation between patients’ educational level and the disease activity. Conclusions: Neither the educational level nor the frequency of hospital admissions had effects on the knowledge about this disease. As most patients had a high disease activity, a better knowledge may improve disease control and prevent complications.
Cite this paper
Salman, S. , SAlnuaimi, A. , Lateef, N. and Kadhum, R. (2014) Assessment of Knowledge and Attitude in a Sample of Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis and Its Association with Disease Activity and Severity: A Cross-Sectional Study. Open Journal of Rheumatology and Autoimmune Diseases, 4, 226-234. doi: 10.4236/ojra.2014.44031. 
 

[1] Waldenburger, J.M. and Firestein, G.S. (2008) Rheumatoid Arthritis. In: Klippel, J.H., Stone, J.H., Crofford, L.J. and White, P.H., Eds., Primer on Rheumatic Diseases, 13th, Springer Science and Business Media, New York, 122-32.
[2] Al-Rawi, Z.S., Alazzawi, A.J., Al-Ajilli, F.M., et al. (1978) Rheumatoid Arthritis in Population Samples in Iraq. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseasess, 37, 73-75.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/ard.37.1.73
[3] Hallert, E., Thyberg, I. and Hass, U. (2003) Comparison between Women and Men with Recent Onset Rheumatoid Arthritis of Disease Activity and Functional Ability over Two Years (the TIRA Project). Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, 62, 667-670.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/ard.62.7.667
[4] Isenberg, D.A. (2004) Oxford Textbook of Rheumatology. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
[5] Taal, E., Rasker, J.J. and Wiegman, O. (1996) Patient Education and Self-Management in the Rheumatic Diseases: A Self-Efficacy Approach. Arthritis & Rheumatism, 9, 229-238.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/1529-0131(199606)9:3<229::AID-ANR1790090312>3.0.CO;2-U
[6] Golay, A., Lagger, G., Chambouleyron, M., et al. (2005) Therapeutic Education of the Diabetic Patient. Diabetes/Metabolism Research and Reviews, 60, 599-603.
[7] Tall, E., Rasker, J.J. and Wiegman, O. (2007) Group Education for Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients. Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism, 26, 805-816.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0049-0172(97)80024-8
[8] van der Heijde, D.M., van’t Hof, M.A., van Riel, P.L., et al. (1990) Judging Disease Activity in Clinical Practice in Rheumatoid Arthritis: First Step in the Development of a Disease Activity Score. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseasess, 49, 916-920.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/ard.49.11.916
[9] Meesters, J.J.L., Theodora, P.M., Ylieland, V., Hill, J. and Ndosi, M.E. (2009) Measuring Educational Needs among Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis Using the Dutch Version of the Educational Needs Assessment Tool (DENAT). Clinical Rheumatology, 28, 1073-1077
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10067-009-1190-3
[10] Verstappen, S.M.M., et al. (2007) Trends in Economic Consequences of Rheumatoid Arthritis over Two Subsequent Years. Rheumatology, 46, 968-974.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/rheumatology/kem018
[11] Al-Jumaily, H.F., Salman, S. and Al-Tawil, W. (1998) Physical and Social Activities Influencing Family Relationships among Married Female Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis. A Dissertation Submitted to the Scientific Council of Community Medicine.
[12] Hill, J., Bird, H.A., Hopkins, R., Lawton, C. and Wright, V. (1991) The Development and Use of a Patient Knowledge Questionnaire in Rheumatoid Arthritis. Rheumatology, 30, 45-49.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/rheumatology/30.1.45        eww141103lx
标签：

评论

发表评论

此博客中的热门博文

Does Immigration Promote the Investment of the Monopolistic Firm?

In the present paper, we examine the effect of increasing uncertainty of immigrants’ growth on the optimal timing of investment of a firm that has a monopolistic power over the labor market. It is revealed that when the uncertainty of immigrants’ growth is more than a threshold level, increasing uncertainty of immigrants’ growth accelerates the optimal timing of firms’ investment and enhances the economic growth, even if the uncertainty of immigrants’ growth is formulated by the geometric Brownian motion, which is in sharp contrast to the standard result that an increase in the uncertainty postpones the optimal timing. With an increase in the immigrants over the past ten years, workforces in the host countries have been growing significantly to the extent that the immigrants represent 70% of the increase in the workforce in Europe, and 47% in the United States as OECD indicates. In the present paper, we attempted to investigate the effect of increased uncertainty caused by the growi...
发表评论
阅读全文

Education Policy Implementation: A Mechanism for Enhancing Primary Education Development in Zanzibar

Education is one of the fundamental rights of individuals; therefore, the government of a country needs to develop and strengthen educational policy and quality as well as to ensure that everyone has equal access to basic education. The improvement of access and quality of education in the world is becoming as an essential factor in development, whereas the basic education (primary school), is acknowledged as a foundation of the higher educational development for every country. To fulfill this goal, governments introduce several policies and procedures; however, it requires some reforms and participation from the politician, policymakers, and other stakeholders to re-examine educational policy so that it can lead to multiplication and betterment of the reforms. Educational reforms actually focus on accountability. A positive educational development and reform is very challenging and needs more effort and strategy on how to use and utilize the resources effectively as such it can achie...
发表评论
阅读全文