The Socio-economic Impact of Arthritis - Essay Example

"The Socio-economic Impact of Arthritis" is a perfect example of a paper on the musculoskeletal system.
Arthritis is a disease perceived by many as a single disease. Babbie (2011) describes the disease as a group of diseases that affect joints in the human body. Each joint normally cushioned or have cartilage lining. The cartilage cushions prevent bone friction at the joints. However, when the cushion deteriorates the joint bones rub on each other causing pain thus limiting motion in the affected joint. There are several types of Arthritis. They range from mild to that disability threatening. The deferent types are Osteoarthritis, Rheumatoid, Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis, Ankylosing Spondylitis, Infectious and reactive Arthritis among others. The most common types are Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid arthritis (Cush, Weinblatt & Kavanaugh, 2010).

Red blood cells cause the inflammation of the Synovium. The inflammation results in the release of protein that after sometime thickens the Synovium. In addition to that, it damages the ligaments, tendons, and bones at the joints. There is no exact cure for arthritis. However, measures have been devised to treat, prevent, and manage it. These are the use of anti-steroid and steroids (in the chronic situation) to reduce or relieve pain, maintenance of a healthy diet, and regular programmed exercises. Early diagnosis is also one of the effective ways of preventing the malady (Meyers, 2008).

Research Problem

There is reportedly an increasing trend in cases of Arthritis, especially among women and children. The ages of 40 to60 are grossly affected while other scholars argue that this has an impact on socio-economic activities. Arthritis apparently is caused by a combination of gene factors, smoking, and virus in the body. The symptoms are joint pains and swellings, fever, weight loss, and longer morning stiffness. There is no cure for Rheumatoid Arthritis through its advancement could be reduced by proper treatment and living a productive life. However, the effectiveness of these measures taken to treat, prevent, and manage arthritis are not known (Babbie, 2011).

Research Design

Conducting interviews and sampling will be the methods to employ in data collection or evidence and analysis. Sampling determines the mode of selection of participants and the size of data (Paul, Diana, &Lynne, 2012).

Hypothesis

The hypothesis of this research is to determine the socio-economic impact of Arthritis by assessing the activities of those affected and infected. In addition to that, to determining how effective the measures to tame the increase of Arthritis cases have been (Myasoedova et al, 2010)

Ethics Consideration

Consenting will be done formally by the voluntary participant in writing to persons above 21 years of age. However, in the case of minors, an elderly person such as the parents will consent on their behalf. Before consenting, the participants should be presented with all the possible risks to them. Any information given by the participant shall be kept secret and only used for the intended purpose during the study in reference to privacy and confidentiality. The researcher will conduct the research with absolute honesty. The participant should not be coaxed or compelled into taking part in the study. Moreover, the collected data should not be recorded as given by the participant (Babbie, 2011).