| N | % | |
| Auto-medication (n = 100) | ||
| Use treatment over the counter (without medical advice) | 17 | 17.0 |
| Leave treatment against medical advice | 27 | 27.0 |
| Consult paramedics | 9 | 9.0 |
| Accept the opinion of lay people | 5 | 5.0 |
| Knowledge about the reason for investigations (n = 100) | ||
| Investigations that monitor disease activity and drug efficacy | 72 | 72.0 |
| Investigations that monitor drug safety | 29 | 29.0 |
| Don’t know | 20 | 20.0 |
| Side effects of medications used for RA (n = 100) | ||
| Anemia | 9 | 9.0 |
| Kidney problems | 21 | 21.0 |
| Impaired immunity | 4 | 4.0 |
| Liver problems | 16 | 16.0 |
| GIT problems | 29 | 29.0 |
| Don’t know | 40 | 40.0 |
| Other problems | 16 | 16.0 |
| Knowledge about other tissues affected by RA (n = 100) | ||
| Nervous system | 5 | 5.0 |
| Gastrointestinal system | 11 | 11.0 |
| Respiratory system | 8 | 8.0 |
| Skin | 1 | 1.0 |
| Cardio-vascular system | 11 | 11.0 |
| Bones | 1 | 1.0 |
| Others | 15 | 15.0 |
| Reported treatment types known to patients (n = 100) | ||
| NSAID | 29 | 29.0 |
| Cytotoxic drugs | 32 | 32.0 |
| Biological agents | 7 | 7.0 |
| Alternative medicine (herbals, acupunctures, clergyman, praying) | 5 | 5.0 |
| Don’t know | 49 | 49.0 |