Article

The aim of this study was to understand the living experiences of
middle-aged Taiwanese adults with early knee osteoarthritis (OA). METHODS: A
qualitative research design was used in this study. Participants (n = 17) were
recruited by purposive sampling from orthopedic clinics at two medical centers in
northern Taiwan. Data were collected through in-depth interviews from July to
December 2010. The data were transcribed verbatim and summarized by content
analysis. RESULTS: The results indicated that the lived experiences could be
grouped into 4 main themes: awareness; surmise of causes; acquisition of
strategies; and the search for confirmative diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: This study
found that patients' knowledge is insufficient for recognition of the presence of
early OA. There is a need for clinicians to integrate knowledge of OA into the
health education system and to develop interventions for early knee
osteoarthritic patients. Patients' disease cognition must be promoted so that
their ability to process early symptoms of this disease will improve.

Langue : ANGLAIS