Adherence of individuals with shoulder pain to home exercise booklets: Barriers, facilitators, and the impact of disability, self-efficacy, and treatment expectations.

BACKGROUND: home exercise booklets offer several benefits to individuals with shoulder pain. However, it is necessary to investigate the factors that determine adherence to home exercises.

OBJECTIVES: 1) To investigate the level of adherence of individuals with chronic shoulder pain to a home exercise booklet conducted without the mediation of a healthcare professional, 2) To describe the barriers and facilitators to adherence, and 3) to determine if shoulder disability, self-efficacy, and treatment expectations are predictors of the level of adherence.

DESIGN: prospective longitudinal study.

METHODS: A total of 47 individuals with chronic shoulder pain were recruited. The Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS) was used to assess pain intensity, the Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (SPADI) to measure shoulder disability, the Pain Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (PSEQ-10) for self-efficacy, and a likert scale to measure treatment expectations. Adherence was measured by Exercise Adherence Assessment Scale (EAAE-Br).

RESULTS: A total of 23 individuals (48.93%) adhered to the home exercise program. The most commonly cited barriers were pain and health-related issues, while the most cited facilitators were pain improvement and symptom relief. Barriers associated with adherence were time constraints and other commitments, while the facilitator associated with adherence was enjoying the exercises. Binary logistic regression analysis revealed that shoulder disability, self-efficacy, and treatment expectations were unable to predict adherence to home exercises in individuals with shoulder pain [F (1,47) = 2.384; p = 0.130; R2  = 0.056].

CONCLUSION: The study revealed barriers and facilitators to home exercise in individuals with shoulder pain. Disability, self-efficacy, and treatment expectations were not able to predict adherence.