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'Lost time'. Patients with early inflammatory/rheumatoid arthritis and their experiences of delays in Primary Care.
- Source :
-
Musculoskeletal Care . Dec2021, Vol. 19 Issue 4, p495-503. 9p. 1 Diagram, 2 Charts, 1 Graph. - Publication Year :
- 2021
-
Abstract
- Background: Early referral forms a crucial part in early inflammatory/rheumatoid arthritis (EI/RA) recovery. Delayed decisions to refer can lead to severe incapacity and emotional distress for individuals and family and feelings of lost time. How patients with EI/RA experience early referral decisions in Primary Care is an under explored area and warrants further investigation. Aim: To explore how patients newly diagnosed with EI/RA experienced their early contacts with Primary Care as they negotiated their journey through the referral process into secondary care. Design and setting: Qualitative face‐to‐face interviews with newly diagnosed EI/RA patients. Methods: In‐depth semi‐structured interviews were conducted to explore patients' experiences of referral from first symptoms to General Practitioner referral. All participants were interviewed within 2 weeks of being diagnosed in Secondary Care. Data analysis was conducted using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Findings: All participants in this study described having experienced struggles with their navigation through Primary Care towards diagnosis and specialist EI/RA services. This struggle comprised five key elements: 'family persuasion', 'lack of continuity in care', 'pushing for referral', 'strained relations' and 'lost time'. Conclusion: The delays experienced by patients when attempting to reach an early referral decision in Primary Care cause frustration for those presenting with EI/RA, partly because they do not feel heard. There is a significant impact on patients and their families when referral to specialist care is delayed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Subjects :
- *RHEUMATOID arthritis diagnosis
*TIME
*RESEARCH methodology
*PERSUASION (Rhetoric)
*INTERVIEWING
*PATIENT-centered care
*PRIMARY health care
*TREATMENT delay (Medicine)
*PATIENTS' attitudes
*QUALITATIVE research
*PHENOMENOLOGY
*CONTINUUM of care
*MEDICAL referrals
*DESCRIPTIVE statistics
*SECONDARY care (Medicine)
*FAMILY relations
*EARLY diagnosis
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 14782189
- Volume :
- 19
- Issue :
- 4
- Database :
- Academic Search Index
- Journal :
- Musculoskeletal Care
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 154145242
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1002/msc.1546