Religiousness and acceptance of disease among patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Introduction. Rheumatoid arthritis is chronic autoimmune disease of connective tissue system, which leads to disability. Religiousness and acceptance of disease help patients to abolish disease better. Doctors and nurses should pay attention not only to biological character of their patients’ needs, but also to psychosocial and spiritual requirements. Taking patients’ spiritual and religious sphere into consideration can contribute to improving healthcare and treatment results.

Aim. Assessment of religiousness and acceptance of disease among patients with rheumatoid arthritis, and researching of interdependence between these variables.

Material and method. Research was conducted on 100 patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Diagnostic survey method and estimate were used in this study. Two standardised research tools were used: the scale of personal religiousness, the scale of disease acceptance and the authorial questionnaire. To do the statistical analysis, Pearson correlation was used.

Results. In the examined group the indicator of religiousness amounted to 3.6 on average, hesitated between 1.6 and 4.9. The majority examined (89%) was characterized by a personal religiousness. The indicator of disease acceptance amounted to 25 on average, hesitated between 11 and 40. Over half examined (58%) accepted their disease on the average level. The religiousness of patients didn’t have a significant influence on approval of illness (r = –0.0041; p = 0.9677).

Conclusions. Not every examined rheumatoid arthritis patient displayed the personal religiousness. In the clinical existing situation, spiritual-religious needs didn’t mean considerable for acceptance of disease.

Nursing Topics 2015; 23 (2): 220–226