PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Margaret H.Y.  Ma
AU  - Sen Hee  Tay
AU  - Peter P.M.  Cheung
AU  - Amelia Santosa
AU  - Yiong Huak  Chan
AU  - James W.L.  Yip
AU  - Anselm Mak
AU  - Manjari Lahiri
TI  - Attitudes and Behaviors of Patients With Rheumatic Diseases During the Early Stages of the COVID-19 Outbreak
AID  - 10.3899/jrheum.200646
DP  - 2020 Sep 15
TA  - The Journal of Rheumatology
PG  - jrheum.200646
4099  - http://www.jrheum.org/content/early/2020/10/13/jrheum.200646.short
4100  - http://www.jrheum.org/content/early/2020/10/13/jrheum.200646.full
AB  - Objective To evaluate attitudes and behaviors of patients with rheumatic diseases during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Methods An online survey delivered by text message to 4695 patients on follow-up at a tertiary rheumatology center. Latent class analysis was performed on the survey variables. Results There were 2239 (47.7%) who responded to the survey and 3 clusters were identified. Cluster 3 (C3) was defined by patients who were most worried about COVID-19, more likely to wear face masks, and more likely to alter or stop their medications. Patients in C3 were more likely to be female, Malay, and unemployed. Conclusion We identified 3 clusters with different healthcare beliefs and distinct sociodemographics.