Daily occupations and well-being in women with limited cutaneous systemic sclerosis

This study investigated occupational performance, well-being (operationalized as general life satisfaction, domain-specific life satisfaction, and self-rated health), and perceived symptoms in women with limited scleroderma and healthy controls.

Interview-based and self-administered questionnaires were used with 36 women with limited scleroderma and 40 healthy women.

In the scleroderma group, most of occupation problems were perceived in work and household chores. The women with scleroderma were mainly satisfied with self-care and least satisfied with household chores. Regarding domain-specific life satisfaction, the women were least satisfied with physical health and leisure. General life satisfaction showed the strongest relations to performance of self-defined occupations and satisfaction with leisure, whereas the strongest association with self-rated health was found for satisfaction with work. Fatigue was perceived as a dominant problem and was significantly associated with well-being. Furthermore, the women with scleroderma felt lower satisfaction with daily occupations and well-being than the healthy women.

Loss of occupations, low satisfaction with leisure, perceived fatigue, shortness of breath, and pain indicated poorer well-being in women with scleroderma and need to be focused on in occupational therapy interventions.