2018 年 44 巻 6 号 p. 261-269
The actions for taking medicines are restricted by the progress of joint destruction in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Therefore, medication support by pharmacists is necessary for these patients. However, no method has been developed to evaluate the degree of action disability for taking medicines. On the other hand, the degree of physical disability in patients with RA could be evaluated using the health assessment questionnaire (HAQ). In this study, we conducted a questionnaire survey that included 10 items related to the actions for taking medicines among 22 patients with RA. We analyzed the relationship between questionnaire survey and HAQ evaluation to determine the start timing of medication support in these patients. The result suggests that the ratio of patients who needed medication support increased steadily as the HAQ score increased. In addition, the questionnaire survey and HAQ evaluation showed a strong correlation (correlation coefficient, r = 0.75; P < 0.05). Therefore, this study clarified that the HAQ score could be a useful scale for identifying the degree of action disability for taking medicines in patients with RA. Furthermore, we could identify the start timing of pharmacist medication support by calculating the cut-off values on the basis of the HAQ score. In conclusion, we could contribute to the practice of medication support for patients with RA from a new viewpoint.
