Active involvement and long-term goals influence long-term adherence to behavioural graded activity in patients with osteoarthritis: A qualitative study

Question: Why do some patients who have received a behavioural graded activity program successfully integrate the activities into their daily lives and others do not? Design: Qualitative study. Participants: 12 patients were selected according to the model of deliberate sampling for heterogeneity, based on their success with the intervention as assessed on the Patient Global Assessment. Intervention: Behavioural graded activity. Outcome measures: Data from 12 interviews were coded and analysed using the methods developed in grounded theory. The interviews covered three main themes: aspects related to the content of behavioural graded activity, aspects related to experience with the physiotherapist, and aspects related to characteristics of the participant. Results: Interview responses suggest that two factors influence Iong-term adherence to exercise and activity. First, initial Iong-term goals rather than short-term goals seem to relate to greater adherence to performing activities in the Iong term. Second, active involvement by participants in the intervention process seems to relate to greater adherence to performing activities in the Iong term. Conclusion: Although involvement of patients in the intervention process is already part of behavioural graded activity, it would be beneficiai to emphasise the importance of active involvement by patients right from the start of the intervention. Furthermore, to increase the success of behavioural graded activity, physiotherapists should gain a clear understanding of the patient's initial motives in undergoing intervention.