Quality of life of patients who suffer from rheumatic arthritis

The goal of the presented study is to compare the quality of life of patients who suffer from rheumatic arthritis to the quality of life of the rest of the population in six domains. The data collection was carried out quantitatively with the use of the standardized questionnaire: WHOQOL-100. 200 people who suffer from rheumatic arthritis were questioned. The following comparison of the subjectively perceived quality of life of such patients to the population norms of the WHOQOL-100 was carried out using the SPSS programme (Statistical Package for the Social Science). The non-parametric Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used for the analysis. The results showed that patients who suffer from rheumatic arthritis show a significantly worse quality of life than the rest of the population regarding the domains of Physical health and Level of independence. The domains of Experience, Social relationships, Environment and Spirituality showed a statistically significant difference. Nevertheless, it is not such a large difference that it exceeds the norms of the rest of the population. From the practical point of view, it is not possible to say that the quality of life of patients who suffer from rheumatic arthritis is significantly different in the mentioned domains. However, it is not possible to neglect these domains regarding the complex care of such patients. The results proved that these domains include fields that the patients who suffer from rheumatic arthritis assess negatively. For this reason, an individual approach of every patient who suffers from rheumatic arthritis is necessary as well as a detailed assessment of the problems directly connected with the illness and other factors.