Factors affecting compliance to home-based exercises among selected community-based rehabilitation patients / The Health Sciences Journal

ABSTRACT

Introduction @#Home exercise programs are part of home-based rehabilitation or self-management for chronic conditions and are typically unsupervised by health professionals. This paper aimed to identify the most common factors affecting compliance to a home exercise program among patients of a community-based rehabilitation.@*Methods @#This study correlated age, gender, civil status and educational background with perceived factors affecting compliance among patients undergoing community-based rehabilitation. A self-generated questionnaire with a 5-point Likert-type scale was used to measure the patient-related, therapy-related and health care factors affecting compliance. Correlation of the demographic characteristics listed with factors affecting compliance was determined using Person's r and Spearman rho.@*Results @#Around 90-95% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed with the patient-related, therapy-related and health care system factors listed. Correlating with age, pain was a barrier in achieving goals (r=-0.383). Willingness to do exercises had some correlation with doing the home exercises (r=0.366). Pain was a barrier in doing the exercises among married patients (r = -0.485). Willingness to do exercises at home was weakly negatively correlated with a low educational attainment (r = -0.287). All the correlations were not significant.@*Conclusion @#Compliance to a home exercise program are inluenced by the patient's motivation, pain as a barrier in achieving goals, and accommodating staff. Female gender and single status correlated with better compliance but the correlation was not significant.