Construction of Exercise Behavior Model in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Area of Science:

• Rheumatology
• Behavioral Science
• Health Psychology

Background:

• Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) exhibit significantly lower exercise engagement compared to the general population.
• Understanding the psychological determinants of exercise behavior in RA is crucial for health management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a structural equation model explaining exercise behavior in RA patients.
• To investigate the roles of self-determination theory and self-efficacy theory in RA exercise.
• To identify key factors influencing exercise adherence in rheumatoid arthritis.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study involving 214 RA outpatients in South Korea.
• Utilized a structured questionnaire assessing autonomy support, motivation, self-efficacy, and exercise behavior.
• Data analyzed using SPSS 22.0 and AMOS 22.0 for structural equation modeling.

Main Results:

• The proposed structural model demonstrated good fit with the collected data.
• Autonomous motivation and self-efficacy were identified as significant predictors of exercise behavior in RA patients.
• The model accounted for 21.2% of the variance in exercise behavior among RA patients.

Conclusions:

• Enhancing autonomous motivation is essential for increasing exercise behavior in RA.
• Improving self-efficacy is a key strategy to promote physical activity in rheumatoid arthritis.
• Interventions targeting psychological factors can strengthen exercise habits in RA patients.