The effect of self-management program performed using telerehabilitation on individuals with scleroderma

The study was planned to examine the effect of self-management intervention performed with telerehabilitation on quality of life, pain, activity performance, fatigue, self-efficacy and sleep in individuals diagnosed with scleroderma. 29 individuals with scleroderma who met the inclusion criteria and volunteered were included in our study. Sociodemographic information and clinical features were questioned. The severity of the disease, the level of pain and physical activity were evaluated with Scleroderma Health Assessment Survey (SHAQ), Self-Management was evaluated with Self-efficacy Scale on the People with Chronic Diseases, sleep quality was evaluated with Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), level of fatigue was evaluated with The Fatigue Severity Scale, quality of life was evaluated with Short Form - 12 (SF - 12) and activity performance was evaluated with Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM). An 8-week self-management intervention was administered using telerehabilitation for an average of 45 minutes. At the end of the intervention, individuals with scleroderma were evaluated again with the same scales. A dependent t-test was used for normally distributed variables, and Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used for non-normally distributed variables. As a result of our study, a significant difference was found in the areas of self-management, fatigue, activity performance and satisfaction of individuals (p<0.01). We recommend that self-management intervention be included in interdisciplinary occupational therapy programs in order to psychosocially support individuals with scleroderma.