Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Self-care: Perspectives of People with Rheumatoid Arthritis

COVID-19 Research Area(s): Healthcare Delivery & Policy

The overarching goal of this qualitative study is to understand the impact of COVID-19 and the pandemic response strategy on people living with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The project builds on two ongoing randomized controlled trials on self-care interventions.
 
The original objective of the qualitative research study is to assess barriers to implementation and sustainability of our self-care interventions for people with RA. For the current project, we propose a second objective to explore the impact of COVID-19 on self-care from the perspectives of people living with RA. Specifically, we focus on individual's experiences in managing stress, staying active, eating well, and accessing necessary medications during the global health crisis.