Romatizmal Hastalık Tanısı ile Tedavi Gören Çocukların Bakım Vericilerinin Hastalıklara Yönelik Semptom ve Bilgi Düzeyinin Belirlenmesi

The study aimed to assess knowledge level of caregivers responsible for children with rheumatic diseases regarding both their symptoms and diseases themselves. This descriptive study, including 115 caregivers of children diagnosed with rheumatic diseases at the pediatric rheumatology outpatient clinic of hospital in the Black Sea Region of Türkiye, was conducted between January 20 and June 10, 2023. Data were collected “Participant Information Form” and “Symptoms and Knowledge Level Form for Rheumatic Diseases.” In the analysis of the data, number (n), percentage (%), mean, standard deviation, and independent sample t-test were used. The average age of the children was 10.58 ± 4.43 years, Juvenile idiopathic arthritis accounted for 40.9% of the medical diagnoses. The onset of symptoms occurred at 36.13 ± 34.59 months and the treatment duration was 30.04 ± 31.80 months (min: 1 month; max: 156 months). 73% of caregivers were women, mostly mothers, and 59.1% experienced joint pain associated with rheumatic diseases. 81.7% of participants received verbal information or education from their doctor, while 25.2% primarily sought information online (95.4%) due to perceived inadequacy in the provided education. Caregivers who obtained information from the internet demonstrated a higher level of knowledge about the disease compared to those who did not (p< 0.05). It is recommended that health professionals implement scheduled and systematic health training sessions for caregivers, and there should be support for academicians, professional organizations in establishing websites aimed at providing accurate information to caregivers about diseases via the internet.