Black American older adults' motivation to engage in osteoarthritis treatment recommendations for pain self-management: A mixed methods study.
Staja Booker, Keela Herr, Toni Tripp-Reimer
PMID 32169337WHAT IT FOUND
Older Black Americans with osteoarthritis reported high motivation, but pain, unsafe neighborhoods, no pool, low access, and disbelief blocked recommended exercise and self-management.
Group settings, home equipment, and empathetic education helped.
Key findings
0155.5% reported land-based exercise, 8.2% reported water-based exercise, 70.9% reported strength training, and 11.8% reported self-management/education.
02Barriers to recommended treatments included pain, limited time, unsafe environments, lack of pool access, inability to swim, and lack of available self-management programs.
03To increase motivation, participants identified acknowledging lack of motivation, changing negative attitudes, becoming disciplined, and talking to someone who cares.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for RNs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
Participants were a convenience sample of non-institutionalized older Black Americans from a north-central/northwestern Louisiana region, so results may not apply to other places, ages, races, or people in institutions. All data were self-reported, and optional questions had variable response rates, so some barriers and motivators may be missing or biased. The study was not experimental, so it cannot show that any treatment, barrier, or motivational step causes better pain control or engagement. Interview findings came from 18 participants purposively selected from survey respondents, and self-selection may mean less motivated people were underrepresented. The engagement questionnaire was created for this study and checked by two experts for content, so its stage categories may not be reliable.
The easy way to misread this
Do not treat this as proof that recommended treatments reduce pain or that the four steps increase motivation; it describes reported barriers and themes in a convenience sample, not tested effects.