Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Apr;41(4):1185-1195.
doi: 10.1007/s10067-021-06014-w. Epub 2022 Jan 11.

Illness perception and treatment experience in patients with gout: a descriptive qualitative study

Qin Li #  1 , Ting Liu #  1 , Shan Zhang  1 , Xiuxin Miao  2
Affiliations

Illness perception and treatment experience in patients with gout: a descriptive qualitative study

Qin Li et al. Clin Rheumatol. 2022 Apr.

Erratum in

Abstract

Objective: To explore the illness perception and treatment experience of gout patients in China.

Methods: A descriptive qualitative approach was used. In-depth semi-structured individual interviews were conducted among 18 adults with gout between August 2020 and December 2020. The Common-Sense Model of Self-Regulation was used as the conceptual framework for developing interview guide and data analysis. Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed, independently coded, and analyzed for themes.

Results: The 18 gout patients aged 23-77 years old, with 16 being male. Four themes were generated to reflect the experience of patients with gout: limited knowledge of gout, various but inadequate sources of gout knowledge, multifaceted influences of gout, and seeking for diversified disease treatment methods.

Conclusion: There is a gap between patients' anticipation and practical service that is closely linked with subsequent poor gout management among the participants. The findings indicate a need of strengthening health education about gout by considering building nurse-led support groups and developing mobile health applications, as well as addressing the long-term influence of the Chinese alcoholic drinking culture to promote patients' effective disease management.

Key points: • This qualitative study fills a knowledge gap on illness perception and treatment experience among Chinese gout patients, exploring how these patients perceived gout and manage gout. • The gout patients in this study reported disparity between personal anticipation and healthcare service that largely contributes to their poor gout management. • The Chinese alcoholic drinking culture embedded in personal, professional, and social activities posed extra difficulties and challenges on modifying lifestyle for gout patients that needs to be addressed for promoting gout management among this group.

Keywords: China; Descriptive qualitative study; Disease management; Gout; Illness perception.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Dehlin M, Jacobsson L, Roddy E, Sahlgrenska A, Institutionen För Medicin AFRO, Institute Of Medicine DORA, Göteborgs U, Gothenburg U, Sahlgrenska A (2020) Global epidemiology of gout: prevalence, incidence, treatment patterns and risk factors. Nature reviews. Rheumatology 16:380–390 - PubMed
    1. Counsell AB, Nguyen AD, Baysari MT, Kannangara DRW, McLachlan AJ, Day RO (2018) Exploring current and potential roles of Australian community pharmacists in gout management: a qualitative study. BMC Fam Pract 19:54 - PubMed - PMC
    1. Richette P, Doherty M, Pascual E, Barskova V, Becce F, Castaneda J, Coyfish M, Guillo S, Jansen T, Janssens H, Liote F, Mallen CD, Nuki G, Perez-Ruiz F, Pimentao J, Punzi L, Pywell A, So AK, Tausche AK et al (2020) 2018 updated European League Against Rheumatism evidence-based recommendations for the diagnosis of gout. Ann Rheum Dis 79:31–38 - PubMed
    1. Liu R, Han C, Wu D, Xia X, Gu J, Guan H, Shan Z, Teng W (2015) Prevalence of Hyperuricemia and gout in mainland China from 2000 to 2014: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Biomed Res Int 2015:1–12
    1. Chen Y, Tang Z, Huang Z, Zhou W, Li Z, Li X, Sun F (2017) The prevalence of gout in mainland China from 2000 to 2016: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Public Health-Heidelberg 25:521–529

Substances

LinkOut - more resources