The application of exercise intervention based on the self-efficacy theory in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Abstract

Objective To explore the effect of exercise intervention based on the self-efficacy theory on quality of life, physical function, fatigue and pain in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Methods The convenience sampling method was used to select 64 rheumatoid arthritis patients who visited the department of rheumatology of Tianjin Medical University General Hospital from December 2017 to August 2018. Thirty-two rheumatoid arthritis patients were divided into the intervention group and other 32 rheumatoid arthritis patients were divided into the control group according to the visiting time. Patients in the control group received the conventional nursing care, and patients in the intervention group received the conventional nursing care and exercise intervention based on the self-efficacy theory. The 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36), Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ), Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS), Visual Analog Scale (VAS) were assessed three months after the intervention. Results After the intervention, the scores of the SF-36 in the intervention group and the control group were (68.04±12.27) and (54.32±21.66) points, respectively. The difference between the two groups was statistically significant (t=-3.119, P<0.05). After the intervention, the scores of the HAQ, FSS and VAS were (0.60±0.57), (3.68±1.75) and (4.08±2.17) points, respectively in the intervention group and (1.00±0.78), (4.65±2.07) and (5.44±2.75) points in the control group. The difference between the two groups was statistically significant (t=2.329, Z=-2.024, Z=-2.058, P<0.05). Conclusions The exercise intervention based on the self- efficacy theory can improve the quality of life, physical function, fatigue and pain in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, which is worthy of further promotion in clinical practice. Key words: Arthritis, rheumatoid; Self-efficacy; Exercise; Quality of life