Syddansk Universitet The Experience of people with rheumatoid arthritis living with fatigue a qualitative (original) (raw)

New insights into the experience of fatigue among patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a qualitative study

2010

Objectives Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) commonly experience fatigue. The aim of this study was to gain further insight into the experience of fatigue in RA. Methods Participants were 31 outpatients with RA of Medical Spectrum Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands, with all levels of fatigue. In-depth structured interviews on the patients' experience of fatigue were conducted and analysed using a bottom-up coding scheme, meaning that answers of patients were summarised and categorised.

The Experience of people with rheumatoid arthritis living with fatigue: a qualitative metasynthesis

BMJ Open

ObjectivesTo identify, appraise and synthesise qualitative studies on the experience of living with rheumatoid arthritis (RA)-related fatigue.MethodsWe conducted a qualitative metasynthesis encompassing a systematic literature search in February 2017, for studies published in the past 15 years, in PubMed, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Embase, SveMed, PsychINFO and Web of Science. To be included, the studies had to report the experience of living with fatigue among adults with RA. The analysis and synthesis followed Malterud’s systematic text condensation.ResultsEight qualitative articles were included, based on 212 people with RA (69% women) and aged between 20 and 83 years old. The synthesis resulted in the overall theme ‘A vicious circle of an unpredictable symptom’. In addition, the synthesis derived four subthemes: ‘being alone with fatigue’; ‘time as a challenge’; ‘language as a tool for increased understanding’ and ‘strategies to manage fat...