Self-care activities and behavioral intention toward self-care in older adults suffering from knee osteoarthritis in Yazd, Iran

ABSTRACT

Elderly patients suffer disproportionally from a number of chronically painful conditions, with arthritis leading the list. Osteoarthritis [OA] is the most common joint disorder and the most prevalent cause of joint pain across the spectrum of middle age to elderly. Enhancing behavioral intention toward self-care for OA, previously known as proximal predictor of self-care, is one of the fundamental strategies to improve self-management. The purpose of this study was to investigate to what extent a correlation between behavioral intention and self-care attempts exists; and status of intention toward self-care and self-care behaviors among older adults who are suffering from OA in Yazd city, Iran