Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Correspondence Linda C. Email: lli arthritisresearch. We used a relational ethics lens to better understand how persons with rheumatoid arthritis RA experience their use of a wearable as part of a physical activity counselling intervention study involving a physiotherapist PT.
Constructivist grounded theory and a relational ethics lens guided the study design. This conceptual framework drew attention to benefits, downsides and tensions experienced in a context of relational settings micro and macro in which participants live.
This study is a key step to advance understanding of ethical issues of using a wearable as an adjunct for engaging in physical activity from a patient's perspective. Perspectives of persons with arthritis mostly members of Arthritis Research Canada's Arthritis Patient Advisory Board were sought to shape the research question and interpretations throughout data analysis.
Current expert guidelines recommend physical activity for persons with rheumatoid arthritis RA due to evidence supporting benefits, such as reducing pain and fatigue, and improving quality of life. Recent systematic reviews have associated using a wearable with significant increases in physical activity participation e. Based on experiences and opinions of persons with arthritis, early research suggests using a physical activity wearable may have positive and negative influences on the relationships that persons with arthritis have with themselves i.
These relational settings broadly include the social, historical, political, cultural and economic contexts in which we live. In line with a social constructionist approach to grounded theory, each stage of our research process was informed by a relational ethics lens. Relational ethics is a broad theoretical lens that draws from a recent history of critical inquiry into traditional ethical principles i.
