Questionnaire to evaluate the effects of assistive devices and altered working methods in women with rheumatoid arthritis

The objectives of the study were to identify perceived difficulty and reduction of difficulty when using assistive devices and altered working methods in performing daily activities and to detect which activities were unaffected by interventions. Twenty-one women aged 29-65 years with rheumatoid arthritis answered the Evaluation of Daily Activity Questionnaire (EDAQ), which contains 102 items divided into 11 dimensions of daily activities. The women rated their perceived difficulty twice: first when not using devices or altered methods and then when using them. The use of devices or altered methods led to a reduction in perceived difficulty in 42% of the ratings. The number of items that the women found difficult when not using devices/altered methods ranged between 13 and 99. With the interventions, the number of items still found difficult decreased to between 6 and 57, 91% of the devices provided were still in use. The dimensions Eating, Cooking and Toileting contained the most items affected by the use of devices such as lever taps, springy scissors, breadknife and wrist orthosis. Few effective devices were identified for the dimensions Dressing, Washing, Cleaning and Mobility Outdoors. It was concluded that the EDAQ represents a new approach to demonstrating difficulties in performing various daily activities, to describing the effects of assistive devices/altered methods, and to identifying areas not affected by interventions.