Introduction:

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has a strong impact on work capacity and quality of life. The prevalence of RA is higher in women in their third and fourth decades of life. In order to understand how RA patients perceive their quality of life, it is necessary to consider their experiences and the meanings they give to their condition as chronic patients. This process also provides relevant information for implementing strategies that contribute to solving their needs and improving their quality of life.

Objective:

To describe the perceptions of women with RA about their quality of life.

Materials and methods:

Qualitative descriptive study conducted on a sample of 36 women diagnosed with RA who were administered in-depth interviews. Data were organized using the AtlasTI program; on the other hand, the narrative inquiry and the interpretive analysis were carried out according to Ricoeur and Benner, respectively.

Results:

The narrative inquiry of the participants' stories allowed them to describe their quality of life as a state of well-being despite being affected by the disease. The analysis of the narratives told by the participants made evident the need for social security and protection, considering the multiple difficulties faced by people with RA in the current Colombian health system.

Conclusion:

The results of this study may be regarded as a contribution to the humanization of health service delivery since they will allow health professionals to reflect on how to approach quality of life from a psychosocial and humanistic perspective.

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