Connolly Deirdre, Fitzpatrick Clodagh, O'Toole Lynn, Doran Michele, O'Shea Finbar
Discipline of Occupational Therapy, School of Medicine, Trinity Centre for Health Sciences, St. James Hospital, James St., Dublin 8, Ireland.
Department of Rheumatology, St. James's Hospital, Dublin 8, Ireland.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2015 Oct 28;12(11):13807-22. doi: 10.3390/ijerph121113807.
Fatigue is a symptom of arthritis that causes difficulty at work. An improved understanding of this symptom could assist its management in the work environment. The aim of this study was to explore people with rheumatic diseases' experiences of fatigue in work. A qualitative descriptive design was used with semi-structured interviews and a constant comparative method of data analysis. There were 18 participants, the majority of them female with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) and working full-time. Three themes were identified: "Impact of fatigue on work performance" with cognition, mood and physical abilities being the main difficulties reported. In the second theme "Disclosure at Work" participants discussed disclosing their disease to employers but reported a lack of understanding of fatigue from colleagues. The final theme "work-based fatigue management strategies" included cognitive strategies and energy management techniques, which were mainly self-taught. In this study, fatigue was reported to impact on many areas of work performance with limited understanding from colleagues and employers. Interventions from health professionals to assist with development of work-related self-management skills are required to assist with symptom management in the work place. Such interventions should include education to employers and colleagues on the nature of fatigue in Rheumatic diseases.
疲劳是关节炎的一种症状，会给工作带来困难。更好地了解这一症状有助于在工作环境中对其进行管理。本研究的目的是探讨患有风湿性疾病的人在工作中疲劳的经历。采用定性描述性设计，进行半结构化访谈并运用持续比较分析法进行数据分析。共有18名参与者，其中大多数是患有类风湿性关节炎（RA）的全职女性。确定了三个主题：“疲劳对工作表现的影响”，其中认知、情绪和身体能力是报告的主要困难；在第二个主题“在工作中披露病情”中，参与者讨论了向雇主披露自己病情的情况，但表示同事对疲劳缺乏了解；最后一个主题“基于工作的疲劳管理策略”包括认知策略和精力管理技巧，这些主要是自学而来的。在本研究中，据报告疲劳会影响工作表现的许多方面，而同事和雇主对此了解有限。需要健康专业人员进行干预，以帮助培养与工作相关的自我管理技能，从而协助在工作场所管理症状。此类干预应包括对雇主和同事进行关于风湿性疾病中疲劳本质的教育。
