title: Marital quality and self-efficacy: influence on disease management among individuals with rheumatoid arthritis.
abstract: Individuals with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) struggle to maintain improved functional ability and reduced pain levels. Health education emphasizing self-efficacy helps individuals to adjust with the disease outcome and progression. As a basis to develop comprehensive evidence-based patient education programs, the aim of the study was to examine the role of marriage as a predictor of pain and functional self-efficacy among individuals with RA. Review of the regression analysis did not provide support for the relationships between marital quality and self-efficacy. Relationships were not observed between marital quality, length of marriage, and self-efficacy as predicted by the first hypothesis. Additional regression analysis examination found that marital quality, length of marriage, pain, and health assessment together reported significant variance in self-efficacy. However, only health assessment significantly predicted self-efficacy. Other nonexamined variables could have influenced the independent marital quality effects. Future longitudinal studies with larger sample sizes can further validate the current findings.
authors.affiliation: a Geriatric Education Center, Nova Southeastern College of Osteopathic Medicine , Ft. Lauderdale , Florida , USA.
authors.forename: Sweta
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tewary
authors.forename: Naomi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Farber
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D019468:Disease Management; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D008297:Male; D008393:Marriage / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010147:Pain Measurement; D011788:Quality of Life; D012044:Regression Analysis; D020377:Self Efficacy; D057566:Self Report
keywords: Women; chronic illness; marital quality; rheumatoid arthritis; self-efficacy