|
|
Quality of Life in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients
KAAS, Jiří
The objective of the presented thesis is to explore the impact of rheumatoid arthritis on the patient's life and to compare the subjectively perceived quality of life of such patients with that in healthy population. The set objectives were achieved through a combination of quantitative and qualitative research. The quantitative survey took place as part of the team research project GAJU No. 120/2012/S through the use of the standardized WHOQOL-100 questionnaire handed out to 200 patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis. In addition to further tests, the statistical data analysis included comparison of the quality of life in the aforesaid patient population with the quality of life in the control healthy population, which also participated in the above stated project. The qualitative survey used the technique of semi-structured interviews with 11 patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis. The research has shown that the patients with rheumatoid arthritis have a worse quality of life in the fields of physical condition and independence than healthy population. On the other hand, a better quality of life was found in the fields of milieu and spirituality. The results also referred to pain and fatigue as the major factors influencing the quality of life of such patients and drew attention to their interconnection with other dimensions. The qualitative survey supplemented the quantitative data with a practical detailed description of individual problems. Among other things, it detected factors that help the patients to overcome obstacles associated with the disease. For example, the research revealed the family influence or the compensation of restraints by adaptations of the environment or changes of the daily routine. Interesting conclusions have been derived from the information about the effect of adaptation to the disease; it was found out that in the course of their life with the disease, patients get used to certain difficulties, so they perceive them as less severe than in the beginnings of the disease. The thesis provides a complex view of the matters of the quality of life of patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis and refers to this disease not only as to a disease of the body but also to a disease of the human soul. Among other things, it provides evidence that the concept of the quality of life is applicable in the field of nursing. With regard to the above stated facts, the thesis is useful for the extension of the theoretical knowledge in the field of nursing as well as for the clinical practice.
|
|
|
Degree of difficulty in performing activities of daily living in patients with rheumatoid arthritis
KAAS, Jiří
Theoretical foundation: Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic system disease manifesting itself particularly by inflammatory joint impairment. The main problems confronting daily the patient include pains of the motor system and fatigue. The disease has typically long, progressive development, and although it does not cause directly the patients' death, it reduces their life by some ten years on average. The serious character of the disease consists in the fact that the motor abilities of the individual are gradually impaired. At the beginning the patients must avoid major physical activity, often give up their hobbies and sometimes even their jobs. In the most serious cases, the disease may even prevent the patients from performing basic self-service activities. Goal of the thesis: The goal of the thesis consists in mapping the level of problems of rheumatoid arthritis patients at performing daily activities. Hypotheses - H1: Rheumatoid arthritis patients feel discomfort when performing common daily activities, H2: Rheumatoid arthritis patients make use of supporting and compensation aids when performing common daily activities, H3: Rheumatoid arthritis patients make use of another person's assistance when performing common daily activities. Methodology: The research part of the thesis was implemented based on quantitative inquiry within the grant Project No. 120/2012/S ?Reflection of life quality in nursing?. The actual research made use of HAQ standardized questionnaire, distributed among the rheumatoid arthritis patients. The size of the research set was set at 200 rheumatoid arthritis patients from all over the Czech Republic. The respondents were chosen based on quota selection, striving to observe the proportion of men to women at 3:1, i.e. 150 women and 50 men. When searching the respondents, organizations associating patients with the respective diagnosis were first approached. All results obtained were statistically processed in the SASD (Statistical Analysis of Social Data) program. Descriptive statistics were used. Results: The results can be divided into three areas, by the related hypotheses. The first part of the results gave information on the degree of discomfort felt by the individuals when performing specific common daily activities. It was found out that the patients see the most difficult activity in taking down an item from a place above their head and bathing in the bathtub. The second area brought information on the aids used to perform common daily activities. The respondents named dressing aids or handgrips at the bathtub most frequently. The third and last area brought the answer to the question what activities require another person's help. The patients named reaching or opening of things most frequently. But an essential part of the patients stated not to need any help of another person in common daily activities. Based on the results, the hypotheses were evaluated as follows: H1 - Rheumatoid arthritis patients feel discomfort when performing common daily activities - confirmed, H2 - Rheumatoid patients make use of supporting and compensation aids when performing common daily activities - confirmed and H3 - Rheumatoid arthritis patients make use of another's person when performing common daily activities - not confirmed. Conclusion: The thesis provides a detailed and comprehensive view on the issues of performing common daily activities in rheumatoid arthritis patients. The results can be used both by practical nurses and by students of nursing and related disciplines. The thesis can also constitute foundation for further research. The thesis results will be also presented and published.
|
|
|
Nursing care of patients with systemic connective tissue disease - lupus erythematosus
KAAS, Jiří
Lupus erythematosus is a chronic disease that is classified as a systemic or diffuse connective tissue disease. This is an autoimmune inflammatory disease which may affect virtually any organ of the human body. The nature of the disease lies in the increased activity of B cells that produce organ-nonspecific autoantibodies reacting with various structures of cell nuclei. The most frequently affected organs are the joints, skin, heart, kidneys and the central nervous system. The disease is accompanied by a number of clinical manifestations such as fatigue, musculoskeletal pain, increased body temperature and other symptoms. For the nurse standing at the bedside of a patient with this disease, the knowledge of different manifestations of the disease and the readiness to provide highly individualized nursing care is important. The aim of this thesis is to determine the specifics of nursing care and the most frequent nursing problems of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. The empiric part of the thesis was conducted through the qualitative research. The data collection technique was a semi-structured interview, which was practically carried out with ten patients from the South Bohemian and Pilsen regions. Interviews with individual respondents were integrated into case studies. The most interesting data were represented in the form of categorized tables. The results of the research have proved a wide spectrum of patients´ problems and have shown that the disease does not affect only the patients´ physical aspects, but it significantly affects both the psychic and social aspects. Based on the results of the work, a booklet that can be used as an educational or informational material for students of medical disciplines and also for qualified nurses, was created. The booklet is supposed to provide a comprehensive view on patients suffering from this disease.
|
guest ::
