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Article History

Received: 17 October 2025

Accepted: 12 January 2026

First Online: 20 January 2026

Declarations

:

: This study was approved by the Cyprus National Bioethics Committee (Ref number: ΕΕΒΚ/ΕΠ/2019/41). Approval of the study protocol and permission to access outpatient and rheumatology clinics in the public sector was also granted by the Research Committee of the Cyprus State Health Services Organization.

: Not applicable. The manuscript does not contain any individual person’s data in any form (including individual images, videos, or quotes).

: The authors declare no competing interests.

: All participants provided informed consent in line with the recruitment method. For clinic-based data collection, participants received written information on the standard form of the Cyprus National Bioethics Committee and provided signed consent prior to participation. In the online survey, participants were presented with detailed information using an adapted format of the same consent form and provided informed consent electronically by agreeing to the consent declaration before survey initiation. The study was conducted in accordance with the ethical standards laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments.

: Clinical trial number: not applicable.