Healthcare Professionals' Compliance with the Standard Management Guidelines towards the Use of Biological Disease-Modifying Anti-Rheumatic Drugs in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients.
Int J Environ Res Public Health
; 19(8)2022 04 13.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-35457564
ABSTRACT
Treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is complicated, with numerous aspects influencing decision-making, including disease severity, comorbidities, and patient preferences. The present study aimed to evaluate healthcare professionals' (HCPs) knowledge of biological disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) and their compliance with the standard management guidelines for assuring optimal RA therapy. The cross-sectional, survey-based study was performed in various healthcare and academic settings in Karachi, Pakistan to probe HCPs' knowledge of bDMARDs and their compliance with the European League against Rheumatism (EULAR) recommendations for the management of RA patients. Overall, n = 413 questionnaires were included in our study (response rate 82.6%). The physicians were further well-informed about the indications (n = 276, 91.3%, p = 0.001) and monitoring requirements (n = 258, 85.4%, p = 0.004). The pharmacists were more knowledgeable about the drug targets (n = 96, 86.4%, p = 0.029) and their mechanisms of action (n = 80, 72.0%, p = 0.013). Male respondents as compared with females (41.3% vs. 35.6%, p = 0.04), and physicians as compared with pharmacists (40.7% vs. 37.8%, p = 0.012), were more confident in using bDMARDs than conventional treatment in RA patients. Our findings show that the respondents were familiar with the attributes of bDMARDs and the standard management guidelines for RA care. Our results may be relevant in creating new methods, guidelines, and treatments to enhance RA treatment adherence, satisfaction, and health outcomes.
Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Arthritis, Rheumatoid
/
Antirheumatic Agents
Type of study:
Guideline
/
Observational_studies
/
Prevalence_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
/
Qualitative_research
/
Risk_factors_studies
Aspects:
Implementation_research
Limits:
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Language:
En
Journal:
Int J Environ Res Public Health
Year:
2022
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Pakistan