Objectives: Chronic rheumatic diseases, which have a progressive course, lead to large deficits in physical, mental and social functioning. In the process of the planned and systematic education of patients/families, it is extremely important to identify patients’ health problems as well as their needs and expectations. Study objectives: To assess the learning needs of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic sclerosis (SSc).
Material and methods: This was a multicenter, cross-sectional study conducted in seven rheumatology centers in Poland. Health problems were defined as disability (HAQ-DI), pain (Pain VAS), fatigue (Fatigue VAS) and severity of disease (0–100). The educational needs were measured using the Pol-ENAT (0–156). Statistical analysis was performed using PQStat v.1.4.2 and Excel.
Results: The study involved 277 patients with rheumatoid arthritis and 140 with systemic sclerosis. The average age of respondents was comparable in RA (53.3 ±13.0 years) and SSc (54.1 ±14.2 years). Patients suffered from RA on average for 13.7 ±10.6 years and from SSc for 10.9 ±10.3 years. With age and duration of disease, the health problems worsened (p < 0.05). The reported needs of education (Pol-ENAT) were generally at the secondary level – RA 66.4 ±29.3 – younger people (p = 0.008) and those with early RA (r = –0.151, p = 0.011); SSc 71.5 ±27.7 – regardless of age and duration of SSc. Educational needs of patients with SSc correlated with the severity of certain health problems and health evaluation (pain r = 0.334, p < 0.001; fatigue r = 0.243, p = 0.004; severity of disease r = 0.242, p = 0.004 and disability r = 0.291, p < 0.001).
Conclusions: All patients reported the need for education, although it was slightly higher in patients with SSc. There was a decline in interest in education with progressive disability in RA, while in SSc interest in education increased with the progress and severity of the disease.