Are illness perception and coping style associated with the delay between symptom onset and the first general practitioner consultation in early rheumatoid arthritis management? An exploratory study within the CareRA trial

Persons who are later diagnosed with early rheumatoid arthritis (ERA) often delay their first contact with a health professional after symptom onset. Besides initial symptoms, psychosocial characteristics of individuals may influence their help-seeking behaviour. We explored the role of disease characteristics, illness perception, and coping in patient-related delay before treatment initiation in recently diagnosed patients with ERA.status: publishe