Health Promoting Behaviors and Quality of Life of Korean Women with Arthritis

Factors related to health promotion activities and quality of life in Korean women with arthritis have not been clearly identified. Predictors of health pro motion might be identified that will enhance the well-being of this group. Accordingly, the findings of the study will contribute additional information about the relationship between health promotion and quality of life and will add to the research on quality of life of individuals with a leading cause of disability -arthritis. The purpose of the study was to examine the re lationship of selected background factors (years of illness, perceived severity of illness, uncertainty in illness), perceived self-efficacy, and health promoting behaviors to the quality of life of Korean women with arthritis. A cross-sectional descriptive design was used in this study to investigate relationships among the variables of interest. The sample was composed of 96 women who had arhtrits and visited large university hospital in Seoul for regular check up or prescription of medication. The purpose of a descriptive correlational design was to determine the absence or presence of relationships among variables that were measurable (Polit and Hungler, 1987, p. 147). The design of this study was appropriate because it yielded answers to the research questions and hypotheses regarding the relationships among the model variables the questionnaire contained demographic information, translated Mishel Uncertainty in Illness Scale-Community form (MUIS-C) (Mishel, 1987), translated and modified Disease Course Graphic Scale (DCGS) Which was developed by Braden (1990), translated Sherer, et al. 's General Self-Efficacy Scale (1982), The Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile (HPLP), developed by Walker, Sechrist, and Pender (1987) and traslated to Korean by Ha, and quality of life was measured by Face Scale (Andrews, 1976). Several steps of verification for the translation process were carefully conducted. Data analysis included descriptive correlational statistics and multiple regression techniques. Health promotion was the only contributor to predict quality of life. Results showed that enabling cognitive perceptual factor (self-efficacy) mediates the disruptive force (uncertainty in illness) on achieving a health promoting self-help behavior. The findings of thi3 study also indicated that illness-related variable of severity of illness was mediated by health promotion, which buffered it's impact on quality of life.