The Effect of Self-management Training on Self-efficacy of Elderly Patients with Knee Osteoarthritis

Knee osteoarthritis, owing to its progressive route, is often debilitating and affects the elderly’s life. We should be self-efficient to manage the disease problems. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of self-management training on the self-efficacy of elderly patients with knee osteoarthritis.
A quasi-experimental study was conducted on 88 elderly with knee osteoarthritis referred to the orthopedic clinic of Khoramabad City, Iran, in 2014. The subjects were allocated into the intervention and control groups based on the random blocks. First, the patients’ self-efficacy level was measured using the rheumatoid arthritis self-efficacy (RASE) questionnaire. Afterwards, the intervention group was trained for four weeks, one 70-minute session per week. After the training, the intervention group was given four weeks to implement the training program at home. Follow-up assessment after the intervention was conducted via telephone. Finally, the changes of the self-efficacy levels were evaluated and compared. The collected data were analyzed using the chi-square, independent t test and ANCOVA with the SPSS software version 18.
The two groups showed no significant difference in terms of background variables. Also, the two groups were similar in terms of self-efficacy before the intervention. Moreover, the results showed a significant improvement in the mean of self-efficacy before (84.2 ± 7.28) and after (94.08 ± 10.08) the intervention in the intervention group (P 0.05).
The results show that implementation of self-management training is effective in improving the self-efficacy of the elderly with knee osteoarthritis. Educations about pain control techniques, physical exercises, and diet can reduce knee pain in the subjects and improve their self-efficacy.