Behavioral Determinants of Self-Management Behaviors in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients: A Qualitative Study

Self-management behaviors (SMB) play a significant role in controlling the adverse effects of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) as a chronic disease. The main purpose of this study was to explore the behavioral determinants of SMB who suffer from RA. This is a qualitative study with directed approach to content analysis of in-depth semi-structured interviews. A total of 30 RA patients (15 in good and 15 in worst SMB) were recruited in this study based on the PRECEDE model (predisposing factor). The participants were recruited using a purposeful sampling to reach the maximum variation sampling. This sampling took over 6 months in 2015 at the Rheumatology Clinic in the Shariati Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences. Five main theme and 14 sub-categories came out from the interviews. The main themes include: perceived benefit, perceived severity, perceived barrier, attitude, and self-efficacy. Most of the participants considered self-efficacy and perceived barrier as the most significant determinants of SMB in RA patients. The study provided better understanding of behavioral determinants of SMB in RA patients, the finding suggested that improving self-efficacy and eliminating barriers in RA patients can help researcher, physician, health worker, and planner design proper program and strategy in order to improve SMB and their health.