Coping with rheumatoid arthritis.
Rheumatoid arthritis, a chronic systemic connective tissue disorder that affects women three times more often than men, that is of unknown cause, and that involves inflammatory changes primarily in the small peripheral joints of the hands and feet, afflicts approximately 8 million people in the United States. In its mildest form, rheumatoid arthritis causes little interference with normal activity. However, in its severest form, it can render the afflicted person bound to a wheelchair, house, or even a bed. As a result of its crippling effects, simply accomplishing the tasks of daily living can be a feat for some people. Coping with the existence of pain, disabling effects, and/or deformities brought on by rheumatoid arthritis is not an easy task for the afflicted person. To cope with the physical aspects of the disease, the afflicted person is likely to use the coping mechanisms of information seeking, direct action, inhibition of action, intrapsychic processes, and social support. Which coping mechanisms are used, how the mechanisms are used, and how effective the mechanisms are, must be determined by the nurse so that appropriate psychosocial interventions can be planned and implemented.