Resilience and Treatment Adhesion in Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Abstract

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune, rheumatic inflammatory disease that can cause significant morbidity with evident psychological impacts and obvious harm to quality-of-life that require the patient to adapt treatment. : Assessment of resilience and the selfreported treatment adhesion behaviors of patients with SLE, investigating which of these factors are associated to resilience. : Cross-sectional study of 40 women with SLE. A questionnaire with social demographic data, health history and the Wagnild Young Resilience Scale were used. : 62.5% followed the medical treatment properly but 55% found it difficult. 27.5% of the patients presented low resilience, 57.5% medium and 15% high resilience. Resilience was associated in the chi-square test (pvalue : Patients with high resilience tended to follow treatment correctly, tried to understand the disease and adhered more to the treatment to avoid risks and promote protection factors. Therefore knowledge of resilience in patients with SLE is necessary. It is important that the state takes necessary actions to facilitate access to treatment, to educational programs and to medical support. Awareness and counselling sessions must be initiated to develop and promote individual capacities to learn how to tackle with the disease for which psychological support of family and doctors can play a significant role.