Gwenda Simons1, Christian David Mallen2, Kanta Kumar2, Rebecca Jayne Stack2, Karim Raza2. 1. From the Centre for Translational Inflammation Research, School of Immunity and Infection, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, The University of Birmingham; Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals National Health Service (NHS) Trust, Birmingham; Arthritis Research United Kingdom Primary Care Centre, Research Institute for Primary Care and Health Sciences, Keele University, Keele; and the Faculty of Medical and Human Sciences, School of Nursing, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.G. Simons, Research Fellow, PhD; R.J. Stack, Research Fellow, PhD, Centre for Translational Inflammation Research, School of Immunity and Infection, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, The University of Birmingham; C.D. Mallen, Professor of General Practice Research, PhD, Arthritis Research UK Primary Care Centre, Research Institute for Primary Care and Health Sciences, Keele University; K. Kumar, National Institute for Health Research Clinical Doctoral Research Fellow, MSc, Centre for Translational Inflammation Research, School of Immunity and Infection, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, The University of Birmingham, and the Faculty of Medical and Human Sciences, School of Nursing, University of Manchester; K. Raza, Professor of Clinical Rheumatology, Honorary Consultant Rheumatologist, PhD, Centre for Translational Inflammation Research, School of Immunity and Infection, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, The University of Birmingham, and the Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust. g.simons@bham.ac.uk. 2. From the Centre for Translational Inflammation Research, School of Immunity and Infection, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, The University of Birmingham; Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals National Health Service (NHS) Trust, Birmingham; Arthritis Research United Kingdom Primary Care Centre, Research Institute for Primary Care and Health Sciences, Keele University, Keele; and the Faculty of Medical and Human Sciences, School of Nursing, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.G. Simons, Research Fellow, PhD; R.J. Stack, Research Fellow, PhD, Centre for Translational Inflammation Research, School of Immunity and Infection, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, The University of Birmingham; C.D. Mallen, Professor of General Practice Research, PhD, Arthritis Research UK Primary Care Centre, Research Institute for Primary Care and Health Sciences, Keele University; K. Kumar, National Institute for Health Research Clinical Doctoral Research Fellow, MSc, Centre for Translational Inflammation Research, School of Immunity and Infection, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, The University of Birmingham, and the Faculty of Medical and Human Sciences, School of Nursing, University of Manchester; K. Raza, Professor of Clinical Rheumatology, Honorary Consultant Rheumatologist, PhD, Centre for Translational Inflammation Research, School of Immunity and Infection, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, The University of Birmingham, and the Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Treating patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) within 3 months of symptom onset leads to significantly improved clinical outcomes. However, many people with RA symptoms wait a long time before seeking medical attention. To develop effective health interventions to encourage people to seek help early, it is important to understand what the general public knows about RA, how they would react to the symptoms of RA, and what might delay help-seeking. METHODS: Qualitative interviews were conducted with 38 members of the general public (32 women) without any form of inflammatory arthritis about their perceptions of RA symptoms and decisions to seek help were they to experience such symptoms. The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using thematic analysis. RESULTS: A number of barriers and drivers to help-seeking were identified and grouped into 5 themes: perceived causes of symptoms; factors related to presentation, location, and experience of symptoms; perceived effect of symptoms on daily life; self-management of symptoms; and general practitioner-related drivers and barriers. CONCLUSION: To our knowledge, our study is the first to investigate barriers to and drivers of help-seeking in response to the onset of RA symptoms in individuals without a diagnosis of RA. It has revealed a number of additional factors (e.g., the importance of the location of the symptoms) besides those previously identified in retrospective studies of patients with RA. Together with the data from previous research, these findings will help inform future health interventions aimed at increasing knowledge of RA and encouraging help-seeking.
OBJECTIVE: Treating patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) within 3 months of symptom onset leads to significantly improved clinical outcomes. However, many people with RA symptoms wait a long time before seeking medical attention. To develop effective health interventions to encourage people to seek help early, it is important to understand what the general public knows about RA, how they would react to the symptoms of RA, and what might delay help-seeking. METHODS: Qualitative interviews were conducted with 38 members of the general public (32 women) without any form of inflammatory arthritis about their perceptions of RA symptoms and decisions to seek help were they to experience such symptoms. The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using thematic analysis. RESULTS: A number of barriers and drivers to help-seeking were identified and grouped into 5 themes: perceived causes of symptoms; factors related to presentation, location, and experience of symptoms; perceived effect of symptoms on daily life; self-management of symptoms; and general practitioner-related drivers and barriers. CONCLUSION: To our knowledge, our study is the first to investigate barriers to and drivers of help-seeking in response to the onset of RA symptoms in individuals without a diagnosis of RA. It has revealed a number of additional factors (e.g., the importance of the location of the symptoms) besides those previously identified in retrospective studies of patients with RA. Together with the data from previous research, these findings will help inform future health interventions aimed at increasing knowledge of RA and encouraging help-seeking.
Entities:
Keywords:
GENERAL PUBLIC; HELP-SEEKING; KNOWLEDGE; PERCEPTIONS; RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS
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