QUESTIONNAIRE TO EVALUATE THE EFFECTS OF ASSISTIVE DEVICES AND ALTERED WORKING METHODS IN WOMEN WITH RHEUMATOID-ARTHRITIS

The objectives of the study were to identify perceived difficulty and reduction of difficulty when using assistive devices and altered worki ng methods in performing daily activities and to detect which activiti es were unaffected by interventions. Twenty-one women aged 29-65 years with rheumatoid arthritis answered the Evaluation of Daily Activity Q uestionnaire (EDAQ), which contains 102 items divided into 11 dimensio ns of daily activities. The women rated their perceived difficulty twi ce: first when not using devices or altered methods and then when usin g them. The use of devices or altered methods led to a reduction in pe rceived difficulty in 42% of the ratings. The number of items that the women found difficult when not using devices/altered methods ranged b etween 13 and 99. With the interventions, the number of items still fo und difficult decreased to between 6 and 57, 91% of the devices provid ed were still in use. The dimensions Eating, Cooking and Toileting con tained the most items affected by the use of devices such as lever tap s, springy scissors, breadknife and wrist orthosis. Few effective devi ces were identified for the dimensions Dressing, Washing, Cleaning and Mobility Outdoors. It was concluded that the EDAQ represents a new ap proach to demonstrating difficulties in performing various daily activ ities, to describing the effects of assistive devices/altered methods, and to identifying areas not affected by interventions.