BMC Geriatr. 2025 Nov 19;25(1):932. doi: 10.1186/s12877-025-06616-y.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Osteoarthritis is the most prevalent type of arthritis and the second cause of long-term disability among older people. Identifying the disease in time and improving the level of awareness and attitude of people can be effective in reducing the complications caused by the disease. The purpose of this study is to look at how education based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) affected a group of older people living in rural areas’ preventive behaviors related to knee osteoarthritis.
METHODS: This clinical trial study was performed on 100 older people with knee osteoarthritis referred to rural health centers in Bushehr Province, Iran. Fifty individuals were randomly distributed to the experimental and control groups in the study using the multi-stage cluster sampling approach. The TPB questionnaire on osteoarthritis self-care habits was used to gather data; it was completed both before and three months after the intervention. The intervention comprised four sessions lasting 45-60 min each, held once a week for a month. Independent t and chi-square statistical tests were applied to assess the data after entering into SPSS 24.
RESULTS: The age distribution of the experimental group was 65.20 ± 5.07 years, yet the control group had an age distribution of 66.28 ± 5.88 years. The independent t-test results revealed no differences in attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, behavioral intention, or behavior between the study groups. But following the intervention, there was a noteworthy distinction between the two groups in the aforementioned characteristics (P < 0.05).
CONCLUSION: The results showed that the use of TPB contributed to the improvement of self-care for knee osteoarthritis in older people. Due to the importance of health education in promoting self-care behaviors and preventing complications, longer interventions with the aim of preventing the complications of knee osteoarthritis in older people are suggested.
TRIAL REGISTRATION: The registration number: IRCT20221206056722N1. Date of first registration: 10/09/2022.
PMID:41257607 | DOI:10.1186/s12877-025-06616-y
