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Objective To examine religious and nonreligious coping methods among persons with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). To identify positive and negative religious coping methods and personal characteristics associated with them. Methods Persons with RA (n = 181) completed a religious coping questionnaire, 6 subscales from a nonreligious coping inventory, and a depression scale. Results Religious and nonreligious coping were moderately correlated. The scores of all positive religious coping subscales were positively related to the importance persons attributed to religion. Scores of all negative religious coping subscales were positively associated with self-reported depressive symptoms. Conclusions Correlations of religious and nonreligious coping methods were neither completely independent of each other nor functionally redundant, suggesting that each made unique contributions to coping with RA. Persons with no (or few) depressive symptoms who reported that religion was important to them tended to make positive use of their religion as they coped with the emotional stress of RA. A significant number of self-reported depressive symptoms were correlated with a negative use of religion.

The Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Self-Help (SLESH) Course is an effective self-management program that provides knowledge and enabling skills to people with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and their families to assist them in coping with the disease. However, many acknowledge that the program has largely failed to meet the needs of people from diverse cultural backgrounds. In order to better understand how the SLESH Course can be more responsive to the needs of people from diverse cultural groups, we conducted a case study to analyze the content, process, and logistics of the course. The purpose of our study was to determine the essential variables to be considered in adapting the program for Latino SLE patients. Utilizing a three-phase approach that involved key-informant interviews, focus groups, and evaluation of skill-building activities, we found that culturally determined health beliefs, language of preference, and outreach efforts are the key variables that must be considered in adapting the SLESH Course for the target population. Culturally determined health beliefs, such as the importance of family roles rather than individual need and an emphasis on the interdependency of family members, need to be considered in adapting self-help programs like the SLESH Course for Latino SLE patients.

Over 250,000 patients are hospitalized each year in the United States for treatment of a fractured hip, resulting in considerable medical, social, and economic costs to society. Most hip fractures occur among older persons who have fallen. The consequences of hip fractures due to falls by older persons include loss of confidence and the accompanying deterioration in global functional capacity for independent living. This article reviews the problem of hip fracture in the elderly and suggests that intervention approaches designed to enhance personal self-efficacy through patient education may have an important role to play in rehabilitation after hip fracture.