Factors influencing the quality of life of people with rheumatic disease
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15305/ijrci/v2i1/87Keywords:
chronic rheumatic patients, health state, economic coping, stress disorders, social support, quality of lifeAbstract
Aim
Several factors affect everyday life of people with chronic rheumatic illness. A systematic study has been conducted to investigate the most severe problems aggravating the quality of life of these patients, and the role of support and assistance from their family members/acquaintances. An analysis of the characteristics of economic situation influencing everyday life of a risk group of the Estonian society is also presented.
Materials and methods
A national sociological survey called ‘Chronic Rheumatic Patients 2006’ was carried out by the Rheumatic Association of Tallinn with support from the Ministry of Social Affairs of Estonia. Data were collected from 808 respondents using a questionnaire. The quality of life data was analyzed and compared to results of the population survey ‘Estonia 2008’.
Results
The respondents indicated their state of health and shortage of money as their most severe problems, followed by dysfunctional family relations, poor living conditions, etc. The problems were more severe for those who lived alone and had been coping with illness for over 10 years. In most cases, occasional assistance was received from family members or acquaintances to cope with daily life. On an average, every tenth respondent did not have anyone to turn to for assistance. The respondents have also reported the lack of sufficient information on the nature of the illness, effect of medication, options for obtaining assistive devices and rehabilitation.
Conclusion
Need for attention during the initial period of the development of the illness and to increase awareness in the society to provide better conditions for the affected are highlighted based on the results.
References
Mudege NN, Ezeh AC. Gender, aging, poverty and health: survival strategies of older men and women in Nairobi slums. J Aging Studies 2009;23:245-257.
World Health Organization. 2004. Health and Human Rights. http://www.who.int/hhr/en/ Retrieved on 27 September 2013.
European Commission. Discrimination in the European Union. Special Eurobarometer, 2007. http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_263_en.pdf.
Björkstén M and Talbäck M. A follow-up study of psychosocial factors and musculoskeletal problems among unskilled female workers with monotonous work. Eur J Public Health 2001;11(1):102-108.
Rhee SH, Parker JC, Karen L, Smarr GF, Petroski J, Johnson C, et al. Stress management in rheumatoid arthritis: what is the underlying mechanism? Arthritis Care Res 2000;13(6):435-442.
Whalley D, McKenna SP, de Jong Z, van der Heijde D. Quality of life in rheumatoid arthritis. Brit J Rheumatol 1997;36:884-888.
Riemsma RP, Taal E, Wiegman O, Rasker JJ, Bruyn GAW, Van Paassen H-C. Problematic and positive support in relation to depression in people with rheumatoid arthritis. J Health Psychol 2000;5(2):221-230.
Hääl M-L, Laidmäe V-I, Birkenfeldt R. Reumatoloogiliste haigete eluga toimetulek ja ravi kättesaadavus Eestis (sotsioloogilise küsitluse alusel) [Coping with life and availability of treatment for people with rheumatism in Estonia (based on sociological studies)]. 2007 Tallinn: Rheumatism Association of Tallinn,Tallinna, Trükikoda.
Allardt E. Having, Loving, Being. An alternative to the Swedish model of welfare research. In: Nussbaum M, Sen A (eds.). The Quality of Life. 1993. Oxford, Clarendon Press. pp 88-94.
Revenson TA. Scenes from a marriage: Examining support, coping and gender within the context of chronic illness. In I. Suls and K. Wallston (eds.). Social psychological foundations of health and illness 2003 Malden MA: Blackwell. pp 530-539.
Manne SL, Zautra AJ. Coping with arthritis: Current status and critique. Arthritis and Rheumatism 1992;35:1273-1280.
Riemsma RP, Taal E and Rasker JJ. Perceptions about perceived functional disabilities and pain of people with rheumatoid arthritis: Differences between patients and their spouses and correlates with well-being. Arthritis Care and Research 2000;13(5):255-261.
Evers AWM, Kraaimaat FW, Geenen R, Jacobs JWG, Bijlsma JWJ. Pain coping and social support as predictors of long-term functional disability and pain in early rheumatoid arthritis. Behaviour Research and Therapy 2003;41(11):1295-1310.
Afolabi, Olanrewaju, M et al. The pattern of depression and family support in a Nigerian family practice population. Internet Journal of Family Practice, 2007;6 (1). Database: Academic Search Premier.
Laidmäe V-I. Tervisehinnangud ja tervisekäitumine [Health assessments and health behaviour]. In L. Hansson (ed.), Work, home and free time. Everyday life in Estonia 1985-2008. 2009 Tallinn:Tallinn University, Institute of International and Social Studies. pp 115-149.
Shetty R, Jena B, Kadithi A. Can social scientists be the change agents for diabetes prevention? Diabetes-related knowledge, attitude, and practice among social scientists. J Soc Health Diabetes 2013;1:32-36.
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright for articles published in this journal is retained by the authors, with first publication rights granted to the ‘Internet Journal of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology’. All the published content, except where otherwise noted, is licensed under Creative Commons license (CC-BY).
Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) after the publication of the manuscript in IJRCI, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.
