Patients' health beliefs and adaptation to carpal tunnel syndrome based on duration of symptomatic presentation.

The purpose of this paper was to examine the health beliefs and adaptation of patients receiving hand therapy treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). A maximum variation sample of five patients referred for treatment of CTS was used to provide a diverse group of patients with varied backgrounds of age, gender, race, and occupation. Qualitative interviews based on the Health Beliefs model were conducted at the initial evaluation. Adaptive comments were recorded throughout the process. A grounded theory method was used to code and analyze the information gathered. Four themes emerged as to why and when persons wait to seek treatment for CTS: 1) denial of symptoms; 2) work/positioning the cause; 3) life changes; and 4) last resort. In conclusion, a low level of perceived seriousness and a low level of perceived susceptibility to CTS appeared to interfere with persons' seeking treatment for CTS.