Patients' knowledge on Rheumatoid Arthritis - A study at a tertiary care hospital

To determine the level of disease awareness among patients of rheumatoid arthritis.

The cross-sectional study was conducted at the Fauji Foundation Hospital, Rawalpindi, Pakistan, from January to June 2015, and comprised patients with rheumatoid arthritis. A self-made questionnaire was used which was translated in Urdu. The questionnaire had three sets of questions. The first set gathered information on the gender, age, level of education and the duration of the disease of the patient. The second set included questions regarding the symptoms, possible complications and the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. The third set focused on the aetiology, gender predominance and source of knowledge regarding rheumatoid arthritis. SPSS 21 was used for data analysis.

Of the 200 participants,188(94%) were females and 12(6%) were males. The mean age of the participants was 50±12.96 years. Moreover, 96(48%) patients were aged between 51-70 years. Only 3(1.5%) patients were considered aware; 48(25%) were considered partially aware; and 149(74.5%) were considered unaware.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammatory disease requiring long-term management and counselling. Due emphasis should be given to the counselling and education of the patients.