Rheumatoid Arthritis(RA), a chronic and systemic inflammatory disorder, is characterized by joint pain, swelling and stiffness. Patients with RA suffer from joint pain and overall pain. The painful and disabling consequences of RA are accompanied by a variety of affective, cognitive, and behavioral changes. The purpose of this paper was to explore and describe the life experiences of RA patients by eliciting verbal description of their experiences. Participants were nine persons who were diagnosed with RA, and had if for more than six months. They were asked open ended and descriptive questions in order for them to talk about their experiences in their own terms. Interviews were tape recorded and transcribed verbatim. The transcripts were analyzed by Colaizzi method. From the protocols, 213 significant statements about life experience were organized into 83 formulating meanings which were then grouped into five theme clusters. The major themes that emerged from the analysis were 'Emotional Disturbances', 'Trying to Adapt to the Progress of Treatment', ' Change of Role Performances', 'Experiences related to Family'. The result of this study showed that RA patients and families need nursing care based on a deep understanding of their lived experiences in everyday life. Nurses and other health workers must develop rehabilitation programs that focus on the pain control, functional independence and psychosocial factors.

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to identify the pain characteristics, family support and physical functioning and to determine predictors of the quality of life in aged women with chronic pain. METHOD: The questionnaires were collected through direct interview by a trained research assistant from July 2 to August 24, 2001. Subjects were 108 women clients with chronic pain over 65 years of age. Data analyzed frequency, percentage, mean, Pearson's correlation, ANOVA and stepwise multiple regression by SAS. RESULT: Care providers were mostly spouses and daughters in law. Care providers who took care of elderly for a few hours a day had the highest percentile. Aged women had persistently had chronic pain of moderate intensity and was moderately satisfied with pain management. The mean score of disability due to pain was 3 on a 10 point scale. The mean scores of physical function and quality of life were moderate and there were negative correlations between pain characteristics, physical functioning, and quality of life at the range from r=-.46 to r=-.83. Satisfaction with care, duration of pain, disability due to pain, and physical functioning accounted for 56% of the variance in perceived quality of life for aged women with chronic pain. Disability due to pain was the most predictable variable of quality of life and physical function was the second . CONCLUSION: The results suggest that care by family, education in pain control, prevention of disability, and maintenance of physical function are important to improve and maintain quality of life in aged women with chronic pain. Therefore, there is a need for program development that enhance family support and nursing intervention that focuses on active pain control.