Accident prevention in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

The topic of the bachelor thesis is fall prevention in patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis. The topic would like to highlight fall prevention that is very important in patients with this disease. Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammatory disease of connective tissues of the whole organism. The main manifestations of the disease are affected joints, muscles and ligaments. This leads to significantly reduced mobility of joints. However, it can gradually affect other organs of human body, such as heart, respiratory system etc. The quality of life of these patients depends on at what stage of the disease the patient is. The disease gradually limits the clients´ ability of self-care and increases their dependence on close family and friends. Morning stiffness often appears and swelling around the affected joints increase the risk of falling. The purpose of the treatment is to suppress pains, eliminate stiffness, increase muscle strength and improve function of the muscle. Fall prevention in clients with rheumatoid arthritis is an integral part of the treatment. A fall is an unpleasant experience for a client. It might belong to incidents that worsen and prolong the treatment. Thus, a fall might belong to situations that should be prevented. Due to everyday morning stiffness the clients are under permanent threat of a fall and that is why the treatment and prevention of a fall are very essential. Three objectives were chosen for the practical part of the thesis. The first objective was to find out what measures to prevent a fall the clients with rheumatoid arthritis use. The second objective was to map what preventive procedures are used by nurses in medical facilities to prevent a fall of clients with rheumatoid arthritis. The third objective was to find out what measures preventing a fall would be appreciated by the clients with rheumatoid arthritis. A qualitative method of research was applied. 5 clients with rheumatoid arthritis were one examined group. These respondents were chosen on the basis of pre-set criteria- these were: rheumatoid arthritis, stage of the disease III. and IV. and past history of hospitalization. 5 nurses taking care of clients with rheumatoid arthritis in a medical facility were the other examined group. The method of questioning, the technique of a non-standardized interview was applied. The thesis revealed what kind of aids would be clients appreciated to prevent falling. On the basis of the collected data a draft was designed how to prevent falling in a medical facility for clients with rheumatoid arthritis and for nurses who take care of them. Then a set of ten preventive measures was created for clients with rheumatoid arthritis to prevent falling. These aids might be used in hospitals as a recommendation for nurses how to behave to prevent the clients with rheumatoid arthritis from falling and the nurses should provide clients with complex information how to prevent falling