Self-Efficacy, Outcome Expectations, Functional Status and Quality of Life for Older People during Rehabilitation

Abstract

Ageing has been recognised as a major concern in most industrialised countries. Many older people may experience functional disability due to falls, injury or disease, which later results in surgical procedures. Rehabilitation programs have been considered as the better option for maintaining and restoring functional ability. Successful rehabilitation depends to a great extent on building older people‘s confidence in adherence to exercise programs. However, there is limited information about the influence of self-efficacy and outcome expectations on functional status and quality of life (QoL). This current study investigated older people‘s self-efficacy and outcome expectations in functional status and QoL following orthopaedic surgery during the rehabilitation process. This study also aimed to identify the strategies used by older people in managing home rehabilitation after discharge from hospital. A mixed method research design was used in this study. The quantitative aspect of this study involved a descriptive, three-staged longitudinal study. A cohort of 108 older people was recruited within 72 hours of admission to the geriatric rehabilitation units at a private hospital in Brisbane (stage one). Participants were surveyed in a face-to-face interview using a set of standardised questionnaires, including the 12-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12), short Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ), Self-efficacy for Functional Activity Scale (SEFA), Outcome Expectations for Functional Activity Scale (OEFA), Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) and the Australian WHOQOL-BREF. Participants were again interviewed in hospital within 72 hours of each participant‘s discharge (stage two) and six weeks after discharge from hospital (stage three) by telephone interviews or mailed completed surveys.