Psychological and ethical issues in the management of patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis

• Authors: Helena van Oers
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease of unknown etiopathogenesis, characterised by persistent joint pain, stiffness and swelling due to inflammation and erosion of the synovial joints. Uncontrolled active RA leads to decreased quality of life, disability, and comorbidity. Despite surgical and pharmacological interventions, many patients with RA continue to experience symptoms such as pain, fatigue and psychological distress such as anxiety and depression. Research shows that these psychological factors in turn, lead to adverse physiological outcomes and negatively affect treatment compliance. In addition, some RA medications have psychological side-effects especially when taken over long periods making psychotherapeutic interventions an important but often overlooked adjuvant treatment option. The focus of psychological treatments in RA is to attain better quality of life including, inter alia, increased self-efficacy, management of psychological distress, enhancing the patient’s emotional and cognitive state, and exploring adaptive coping styles. Research demonstrates that Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) is an effective intervention in ameliorating psychological distress in patients with RA. Ethical and effective adjuvant psychotherapy is an important component in the management of RA patients.

Keywords

EN

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy; comorbidity; ethics; psychotherapy; rheumatoid arthritis

Discipline

• MEDICINE: MEDICINE

• Publisher: Scientific Publishing House „DARWIN”
• Journal: World News of Natural Sciences
• Year: 2024
• Volume: 56
• Pages: 1-10

Contributors

author

Helena van Oers

• Counselling Psychologist, Durban Oncology Centre, Durban, South Africa

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• Document Type: article