The Effect of Cold Application in Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis

Saglik Bilimleri Universitesi90 enrolled

Overview

The aim of this thesis is to examine the effects of cold application on pain, disease activity, and quality of life in patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis. Currently, non-pharmacological interventions, such as cold therapy, are utilized less frequently than pharmacological treatments for the management of pain in inflamed joints. Cold application is anticipated to alleviate pain and consequently enhance patients' quality of life. This study seeks to improve quality of life by reducing pain in patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis. Given its simplicity, ease of application, and low cost, this intervention may be recommended as a pain management strategy both for patients and for nurses working in clinical settings. Furthermore, the study aims to contribute to the existing literature on the subject.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Enrollment

Conditions

Cold Application Pain Disease Activity Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA

Interventions

Cold ApplicationBEHAVIORAL

Patients will be instructed to apply cold therapy three times daily for 15 minutes each session over a period of three weeks. Patients will report their daily cold application to the researcher via text message. For those unable to provide updates via text, the researcher will follow up daily by phone to monitor adherence to the intervention.

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 18 YearsMax age: 65 Years

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria * Having been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis at least 6 months ago, * No problems with speaking, communicating, hearing, or understanding, * Able to understand and speak Turkish, * Experiencing pain. Exclusion Criteria * Patients who are in remission * Individuals of foreign nationality * People with psychiatric or mental illnesses * Patients who do not consent to participate in the study or who withdraw at any stage of the study

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Rheumatoi Arthritis Disease Activity Index-5

The Rheumatoid Arthritis Disease Activity Index-5 (RADAI-5) is a patient-reported outcome measure designed to assess disease activity in individuals with rheumatoid arthritis

Time frame: 3 weeks

Secondary Outcomes

The Short Form Health Survery- SF-36

The Short Form-36 (SF-36) is a widely used generic health-related quality of life (HRQoL) questionnaire designed to assess overall physical and mental well-being. It is a self-administered instrument that evaluates health status across multiple dimensions, making it suitable for clinical practice, research, and population health surveys.