Self-Management, The Main Experience of Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients: A Qualitative Study Download PDF

Aim: Rheumatoid arthritis is debilitating as a result of their progressive nature. Indeed, it affects different aspects of individuals’ lives. Aim: This study aimed at description and interpretation of self-management experiences in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Methods: In this qualitative study, Van Mannen’s methodological approach was used. This study was performed on 11 patients with rheumatoid arthritis who had been referred to clinic of rheumatology in Hafez hospital and Shahid Motahari polyclinic affiliated to Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran. from November 2015 to October 2016. These patients were selected based on purposive sampling. The data were collected by semi-structured interviews and field notes. Then, Van Mannen’s six-step approach and thematic analysis were used to describe and interpret the experiences of self-management in rheumatoid arthritis patients. Results: In this study, four main themes, including “self-care”, “overcoming the illness”, “social support”, and “empowerment of relationship with God” and thirteen subthemes, namely “changing their dietary patterns”, “turning to complementary medicine”, “performing appropriate physical activities”, “maintaining independency”, “obtaining knowledge, “adapting with the illness", "struggle with the disease”, optimism” ,“moral improvement”,“family support”, “peers support”, “tendency to pray” and “being thankful "were emerged. Conclusion: This study highlighted self-management experiences of rheumatoid arthritis patients. Therefore, healthcare providers and family members are suggested to be aware of these experiences. By improving these experiences, patients will be able to deal with the illness and improve their quality of life and achieve a normal life. Moreover, they can prevent disease’ complication by using self-management strategies.