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Fears about COVID‐19 and perceived risk among people with rheumatoid arthritis or ankylosing spondylitis following the initial lockdown in Aotearoa New Zealand by Gareth J. Treharne; Grace Johnstone; Benjamin D. Fletcher; Roisin S. M. Lamar; Douglas White; Simon Stebbings; Andrew Harrison is a scholarly article available to read on EtoBox.

What is Fears about COVID‐19 and perceived risk among people with rheumatoid arthritis or ankylosing spondylitis following the initial lockdown in Aotearoa New Zealand about?

## Abstract ## Background The COVID‐19 pandemic has disrupted all aspects of life and may raise particular fears for people with rheumatic disease. There is a need for research on fears and perceived risk of SARS‐CoV‐2 so as to understand the impact on wellbeing and inform service provision. ## Objectives The aim of this study was to examine the correlates of COVID‐19 fears and perceived risk of SARS‐CoV‐2 among people with rheumatoid arthritis or ankylosing spondylitis. ## Design A cross‐sectional survey design was applied in Aotearoa New Zealand in the period after initial nationwide lockdowns. ## Method An online survey was completed from July to September 2020 by 126 individuals with rheumatoid arthritis (n = 96) or ankylosing spondylitis (n = 30) who had previously been recruited to the Patient Opinion Real‐Time Anonymous Liaison (PORTAL) study in 2015 or 2018. The survey included demographics and health information as well as measures of COVID‐19 fears and experiences, functional disability and fatigue‐related disability. ## Results Fears about COVID‐19 were higher among younger participants, those who had been tested for SARS‐CoV‐2, and those who experienced more flares over

Author

Gareth J. Treharne; Grace Johnstone; Benjamin D. Fletcher; Roisin S. M. Lamar; Douglas White; Simon Stebbings; Andrew Harrison

Publisher

Wiley

Published

2021

Language

EN