Rheumatoid arthritis impact survey.

A survey was undertaken to determine the effects of rheumatoid arthritis on the daily lives of patients. A randomly selected group of 135 Indians and blacks with rheumatoid arthritis were interviewed. Only 24% were employed and 35% were dependent on financial support from the state. Twenty-two per cent did not know the name of their illness and 89% expressed a desire to learn more about it. The most important problems encountered were pain (96%), stiffness (80%) and financial (58%). Activities such as toilet after-care, combing hair, bathing and dressing presented problems for a significant proportion of patients. The majority (73%) reported improvement on therapy. The survey showed that in rheumatoid arthritis, there is a great need for education and counselling of patients, there is a high unemployment rate and there is also a need for total patient care by a team of health professionals.