Effects of an action research-based nursing program on rheumatoid arthritis patients on long-term hormone therapy: A randomized controlled trial.

This study aims to evaluate the impact of an action research-based nursing program on patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) undergoing long-term hormone therapy. Eighty RA patients admitted to the Department of Rheumatology and Immunology from January 1, 2023, to May 31, 2024, and receiving long-term hormone therapy were recruited. Patients were randomized into 2 groups of 40 each: a control group receiving conventional care and an intervention group receiving care based on the action research method. Evaluations included daily measurements of fasting and 2-hour postprandial blood glucose levels, compliance assessed via a self-developed compliance scale with established reliability and validity, pain via a Visual Analog Scale, joint activity using the 28-joint Disease Activity Score, and anxiety and depression levels using self-rating scales. Baseline measurements showed no significant differences between the groups in fasting blood glucose, 2-hour postprandial blood glucose, pain, joint mobility, and anxiety and depression scores (P > .05). Post-intervention, both groups exhibited improvements in compliance, pain, joint mobility, and anxiety and depression scores, with the intervention group showing significantly greater improvements. The intervention group showed significantly smaller increases in fasting and 2-hour postprandial blood glucose than the control group. The action research-based nursing program significantly enhances compliance and joint mobility, controls blood glucose increases, and reduces pain, anxiety, and depression in RA patients on long-term hormone therapy. This method provides a practical reference for clinical nursing intervention in such patients.