1 Department of Medical Surgical Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.
2 Department of Adult Health Nursing, College of Nursing, Sulaiman Alrajhi University, Al Bukairiyah, Saudi Arabia.
3 Department of Child Health Nursing, College of Nursing, Sulaiman Alrajhi University, Al Bukairiyah, Saudi Arabia.
World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, 2025, 27(01), 1180-1189
Article DOI: 10.30574/wjarr.2025.27.1.2635
Received on 01 June 2025; revised on 10 July 2025; accepted on 12 July 2025
Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic condition that impacts many aspects of life. Biological therapy usually is used to treat moderate to severe disease conditions. Education and support could help people with RA to foster strategies to cope with the disease and its related complications.
Aim: To evaluate the effect of a structured self-management protocol on awareness, disability and complications among patients with rheumatoid arthritis receiving biological therapy.
Methods: A quasi-experimental design was utilized. A Hundred twenty patients with rheumatoid arthritis currently receiving biological therapy were enrolled from the Rheumatic Disease Unit & Outpatient clinic, divided into control and study groups (60 for each). The study group received a structured self-care protocol developed by the authors including educational sessions, printed materials, and weekly follow-up for 8 weeks. Awareness and disability levels were measured pre- and post-intervention using a validated RA awareness questionnaire, the Health Assessment Questionnaire Disability Index (HAQ-DI), and Biological therapy complications scale (BTCS).
Results: The study group showed statistically significant improvements in awareness scores and a significant decrease in disability scores and biological therapy complications at p<0.001 compared to the control group.
Conclusion and Recommendations: The structured self-management protocol significantly improved awareness and reduced disability in RA patients receiving biological therapy. Incorporating such protocols into routine care is recommended to enhance patient outcomes.
Awareness; Biological therapy; Disability; Self-management; Rheumatoid arthritis
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Shimaa Nabil AbdElsalam, Rasha Mohammed ElMetwaly, Reham Adel Ebada, Arzak Mohammed Khalefa, Warda Amur Al Amri and Muna Saeed Mohammed. A structured self-management protocol on awareness, disability and complications among patients with rheumatoid arthritis receiving biological therapy: A quasi-experimental study. World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, 2025, 27(01), 1180-1189. Article DOI: https://doi.org/10.30574/wjarr.2025.27.1.2635.
Copyright © 2025 Author(s) retain the copyright of this article. This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Liscense 4.0