RESUMEN

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Self-care is an important tool in controlling pain in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. The aim of this study was to determine the use of the Orem self-care model on pain relief in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. METHODS: This was a clinical trial performed on 60 patients with rheumatoid arthritis who referred to a rheumatology clinic in Karaj during 2013-2015 (30 patients in the control group and 30 patients in the intervention group), convenience sampling was done and subjects were divided into two groups randomly. Data collecting tools were a demographic questionnaire which consisted of 19 questions and the Numeric Pain Rating Scale. The data result was analyzed by SPSS version 19, using independent-samples t-test and Chi square test. P-value of less than 0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: The mean age was 44.63±10.65 years, 90% were married and 35% had a high school diploma. The results showed a significant difference in three measures of pain in the intervention group (p=0.001), while in the control group, this difference was not significant (p=0.59). CONCLUSION: According to the results, the Orem self-care model is effective in reducing pain in patients with rheumatoid arthritis Therefore, applying the Orem self-care model is recommended to promote and maintain self-care behavior in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The trial was registered at the Iran Registry of Clinical Trials (http://en.irct.ir) with code IRCT2014052517840N1. FUNDING: The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.