Health Care Providers’ Recommendations for Physical Activity and Adherence to Physical Activity Guidelines Among Adults With Arthritis

Navigate This Article

Shamly Austin, PhD; Haiyan Qu, PhD; Richard M. Shewchuk, PhD

Suggested citation for this article: Austin S, Qu H, Shewchuk RM. Health Care Providers’ Recommendations for Physical Activity and Adherence to Physical Activity Guidelines Among Adults With Arthritis. Prev Chronic Dis 2013;10:130077. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5888/pcd10.130077

PEER REVIEWED

Abstract

Introduction
Physical activity is beneficial for reducing pain and improving health-related quality of life among people with arthritis. However, physical inactivity is prevalent among people with arthritis. Health care providers’ recommendations act as a catalyst for changes in health behavior. However, information about the effectiveness of such recommendations is limited in the arthritis literature. We examined the association between providers’ recommendations for physical activity and adherence to physical activity guidelines for adults with arthritis and whether adults’ age influenced this association.
Methods
We used combined data of adult respondents aged 45 years or older with provider-diagnosed arthritis (N = 10,892) from the 2011 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System to conduct a retrospective, cross-sectional study. We used a multivariable logistic regression model to examine the association between health care providers’ recommendations and adherence to physical activity guidelines among adults with arthritis.
Results
Adults with arthritis who received health care providers’ recommendations for physical activity were more likely (odds ratio, 1.22; 95% confidence interval, 1.12–1.32) to adhere to physical activity guidelines than those who did not, after controlling for relevant covariates. Adults’ age did not influence the association between providers’ recommendations and adherence to physical activity (odds ratio, 1.00; 95% confidence interval, 0.99–1.00), after controlling for covariates.
Conclusion
Health care providers’ recommendations are associated with adherence to physical activity guidelines among adults with arthritis. Providers should recommend physical activity to adults with arthritis.

Author Information

Corresponding Author: Richard M. Shewchuk, PhD, Professor, Department of Health Services Administration, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 565 SHPB Bldg, 1720 2nd Ave South, Birmingham, AL 35294-1212. Telephone: 205-934-4061. E-mail: shewchuk@uab.edu.
Author Affiliations: Shamly Austin, Department of Critical Care Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Haiyan Qu, Department of Health Services Administration, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Alabama.