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Patient perspective on exercise intervention in rheumatoid arthritis with high risk of cardiovascular disease: a pilot qualitative study

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Abstract

The objective of the study was to gain an insight into the perceptions and experiences of patients with rheumatoid arthritis and a high cardiovascular disease risk (CVD-RA) when undergoing an exercise intervention aimed at improving their cardiorespiratory fitness. This qualitative study was part of a pilot study, which investigated the effects of an exercise intervention on cardiorespiratory fitness in patients with CVD-RA. Six patients were invited to participate in face-to-face semi-structured interviews. We invited patients who completed the exercise intervention as well as patients who withdrew from the exercise intervention. The interviews were analyzed according to the method of thematic analysis. Six patients were interviewed, of whom four patients completed and two patients discontinued the exercise intervention. The mean (SD) age was 58 (9.7) years, the median disease duration was 10 years, and five patients were female. The analyses revealed seven themes that provided insight into perceptions and experiences: (1) ability to understand reasons for actions; (2) the need to be seen; (3) reaching their maximum effort; (4) experiencing their limits; (5) wanting personalized exercise therapy; (6) happy to be physically active; (7) benefits of exercise. Patients perceived that they were able to perform a cardiopulmonary exercise test with maximum effort and achieved the prescribed intensity of the exercise intervention. They also experienced an improvement in their physical activity by incorporating physical activity in their daily live. Overarching principles that re-occurred in the themes were: the need to be viewed as a person and the importance of feeling safe.

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Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author (j.vd.hoek@reade.nl).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Rehabilitation and Rheumatology, Reade, PO Box 58271, 1040 HG, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    J. van den Hoek, M. Sobejana, M. van der Leeden & M. van der Esch

  2. School of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Health, Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    F. van Nes

  3. School of Physical Education, Sport Science and Dietetics, University of Thessaly, Trikala, Greece

    G. Metsios

  4. Clinical Research Unit, Russell’s Hall Hospital, Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust, Dudley, UK

    G. Kitas

  5. Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Amsterdam University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    M. van der Leeden

  6. Amsterdam Rheumatology and Immunology Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    M. T. Nurmohamed

  7. Centre of Expertise Urban Vitality, Faculty of Health, Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    M. van der Esch

Authors
  1. J. van den Hoek
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  2. M. Sobejana
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  3. F. van Nes
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  4. G. Metsios
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  5. G. Kitas
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  6. M. van der Leeden
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  7. M. T. Nurmohamed
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  8. M. van der Esch
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Correspondence to J. van den Hoek.

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J. van den Hoek, M. Sobejana, F. van Nes, G. Metsios, G. Kitas, M. van der Leeden, M. Nurmohamed and M. van der Esch declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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van den Hoek, J., Sobejana, M., van Nes, F. et al. Patient perspective on exercise intervention in rheumatoid arthritis with high risk of cardiovascular disease: a pilot qualitative study. Rheumatol Int 43, 1369–1376 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00296-023-05312-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00296-023-05312-7

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