Background: Around the world, osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the most common degenerative musculoskeletal disorders that affects the cartilage of joints and causes stiffness, tenderness, and severe pain associated with various movement and functional limitations that result in a negative impact on quality of life of the elderly patients.
Aim: examine the effect of osteoarthritis pain on the functional capacity and life satisfaction among older adult patients in Saudi Arabia.
Methods: The study employed a descriptive correlational and comparative design. A convenient sampling technique was used to recruit 208 elderly patients at the outpatient polyclinics, King Fahad Hospital-King Abdulaziz Medical City, which is affiliated with the Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs, Riyadh. The data was collected through face-to-face interviews using a structured questionnaire. Four standardized Instruments: The Geriatric Pain Measure (GPM) Scale, Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), Activities of Daily Living (ADL), and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) were used to achieve the aim of the study.
Results: The mean age of the study participants was 66.6 +6.4 years. OA pain is present in various degrees among the study sample, where 44.2% of the participants had a severe degree, 40.4% had moderate pain, and 15.4% had mild pain. The severity of pain was significantly associated with a high percentage of functional disability 14.9%, compared with less percentage of functional disability 13.4%, and 8.7% associated with moderate and mild degrees of pain respectively (r=.139; p=-.045). In addition, the severity of pain was significantly associated with a high percentage of low life satisfaction 38%, compared with a lower percentage of low life satisfaction 35.1%, and 14.4% associated with moderate and mild pain respectively (r=.144; p=-.038).
Conclusion: The severity of osteoarthritis pain had a significant influence on functional capacity and life satisfaction among older adult patients. In further studies, it is recommended to apply an experimental design to compare between treatment group and control group to assess the impact of an appropriate nursing intervention to relieve pain.