The knowledge level of rheumatoid arthritis patients about their disease in a developing country. A study in 168 Bangladeshi RA patients

Abstract

Objectives To assess disease-related knowledge of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients Patients and methods Consecutive RA patients were invited from the rheumatology departments of BSMM University, Dhaka, Bangladesh. The Bangla version of the Patient Knowledge Questionnaire (B-PKQ) was used. Correlations between the B-PKQ scores and clinical-demographic data were measured using Pearson's correlation coefficient. Impact of independent variables on the level of knowledge about RA was analyzed through multiple regression analysis. Possible explanatory variables included the following: age, disease duration, formal education level, and Bangla Health Assessment Questionnaire (B-HAQ) score. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to test the difference between demographical, clinical, and socioeconomic variables. For statistical analysis, SPSS statistics version 20 was used. Results A total of 168 RA patients could be included. The mean B-PKQ score was 9.84 (range 1-20) from a possible maximum of 30. The mean time for answering the questionnaire was 24.3 min (range 15-34). Low scores were observed in all domains but the lowest were in medications and joint protection/energy conservation. Knowledge level was higher (15.5) in 6 patients who had RA education before enrollment. B-PKQ showed positive correlation with education level (r = 0.338) and negative correlation with HAQ (r = −0.169). The B-PKQ showed no correlation with age, disease duration, having first degree family member with RA, education from other sources (neighbor, RA patient, nurses), or information from mass media. Conclusions Disease-related knowledge of Bangladeshi RA patients was poor in all domains. Using these findings, improved education and knowledge will result in better disease control. Key Points • Little is known about the knowledge of RA patients regarding their disease and its treatment in Bangladesh and in developing countries in general. • We found that the knowledge of Bangladeshi RA patients regarding their disease was poor in all domains; it correlated positive with education level and negative with function (HAQ), but showed no correlation with age or disease duration. • The findings of this study can be used for improving current patient education programs by health professionals and through mass media. • Better disease control of RA may be achieved by improving patient knowledge in a developing country like Bangladesh, but also in other parts of the world.

Peer-led education or booklet for knowledge transfer about disease: A randomized-controlled trial with ankylosing spondylitis patients

“…Also, several authors reported the use of exercise, joint protection, and energy conservation as the least-known topics. [ 23 - 25 ]…”

Disease knowledge and preferences for disclosure of information in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

“…Nonetheless, better disease control of RA may be achieved by improving patient knowledge of the disease (11). The need for information and decision-making was higher in women than in men and younger age, and greater knowledge of RA predicted a greater need for decision-making.…”

Development and validation of a self-administered questionnaire measuring essential knowledge in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

“…Several knowledge questionnaires (KQs) are available in the literature. The Patient Knowledge Questionnaire, which was developed in 1991 and validated again in 2004 [ 10 , 11 ] and the Knowledge Questionnaire, which dates from 1997 [ 12 ], have both been used in several studies [ 14 – 17 ]. However, they were constructed before the era of targeted disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs).…”