As we all have discussed in class,
osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis marked by the
deterioration of the protective cartilage between joints, which leads to bones
rubbing against each other resulting in swelling, pain, and decreased range of
motion at the joint. Since it is one of the most common forms of arthritis
affecting millions worldwide, I found one particular article quite interesting.
The main focus of the article was to evaluate the level of knowledge that
patient’s with OA knew about the condition.
Nonetheless, the study was
conducted into 3 phases. The first phase was used to develop the questionnaire
by having one-on-one interviews between 12 consecutive patients (both male and
female) diagnosed with symptomatic OA of any joint at a rheumatology outpatient
clinic to determine what questions would be suitable for the questionnaire.
With this information, a 16 multiple choice question test was formed and
examined by a team of health professionals, in which questions were divided
under disease process, drug therapies (common meds and side effects), rest and
exercise methods, and joint protection and additional therapies. Then phase 2
was a pilot study that was then conducted in a rheumatology outpatient
department with 30 consecutive both male and female patients from 5 clinics to
assess readability and reproducibility. A final second copy of the test was
reproduced to give to 83 patients in phase 3, which consisted of 22 males and
61 females. Patients were scored on each sub-group individually and in total of
their knowledge in the questionnaire.
As a result, in the questions
regarding the disease process, a vast majority understood the disease knew main
symptoms of the disease and diagnosis, but I thought it was interesting that
20% of patients (17 of them) thought that OA was a condition caused by cold,
damp weather. In the other groups of
questions listed I also thought it was interesting that there were about a
quarter of patients that chose the “I don’t know option”, which is a bit
concerning considering the fact that those categories involve questions
regarding therapies and treatment of OA. I would think that individuals with
the disease would at least know some information to an extent to alleviate the
pain and other symptoms that they would be experiencing with OA. Overall, the
authors felt that indeed patients require more information and this is publicly
available in an assortment of handbooks. They suggest other techniques such as
providing drug information leaflets or educational sessions to address the
information.
I think as a general rule many people are 'misinformed' on the development and treatment of diseases. In today's society, there is a vast amount of information available to the public but that is not always a good thing. Too much information can be confusing to some patients since there are often contradictory statements and research. Furthermore, some patients do not take the time to make sure the source of their information is reliable.
ReplyDeleteIn the case with OA, (and many other diseases) there are so many factors involved with the development of the disease that it is probably difficult for the average person, who doesn't study medicine on a regular basis, to know the exact etiology.
Normally, I think that surveys are the softest evidence in a study because they are not quantifiable. Yet, In this case it is good for understanding how little the public actually knows about the pathology of their disease and how to treat or prevent it especially. It would just lower the expenses by reducing hospital visits if people were better informed of what is causing them to have the disease they have and how they can lessen how severe it is. This goes for all diseases and not just OA, because hospital visits are where the expenses really are, not the way to prevent it,
ReplyDeleteI agree that not a lot of people know what exactly is osteoarthritis. In eastern medicine, OA is describe that the condition are cause by cold condition and wetness. I'm pretty sure on the other part of the world people still believe this and the whole society just goes with it, but they don't actually know or understand what is actually going on and go with the trend of what the general people believes.
ReplyDeleteI feel like a study such as this can be reproduced with similar findings on a great many different topics. From starvation & lack of access to appropriate healthcare and/or water to preventable diseases & anticipatory guidance. The vast majority (unfortunately) of most populations, whether it be Eastern or Western [medicine], seem to have little or no access to information or as Sarah above eluded to, too much information and perhaps not enough education to allow them to decipher the information. I feel that the first step toward being informed is being educated. That education does not necessarily mean 'higher education' as we see it, it could be on the basis of anything and in terms of medical disorders, this article is 'proof' (if you want to call it that) of the ignorance of many.
ReplyDeleteI think they people who were replying I don't know are just being ignorant. I work at a pharmacy and there are plenty of people who come in and say they want all of their medications. When asked if they know which ones, they only reply all of them. It is just really annoying that I am responsible for all of their medications. I know it is my job and I should help them to the best of my ability but relying on myself is just not responsible at all because if I were anyone else and didn't care about their own physical health, they could be gone by now.
ReplyDelete