Perceived Benefits and Barriers in Patients Diagnosed with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Between 18 and 44 Years of Age: A Pilot Study

This study employed a cross-sectional, descriptive quantitative approach to identify perceived benefits of physical activity and perceived barriers to physical activity in female patients diagnosed with SLE between 18 and 44 years of age to answer the following research question: “What are the perceived benefits of physical activity and the perceived barriers to physical activity in individuals diagnosed with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus between 18 and 44 years of age?”. The study group consisted of 22 subjects with SLE and the control group was comprised of 40 subjects who were in nursing school with no history of chronic illness or problems with mobility. Subjects in both groups completed a demographics survey, the International Physical Activity Questionnaire, the Short Form-36 version two, and the Exercise Benefits Barriers Scale. There were no statistically significant differences in demographical data, energy expenditure, nor health burden between the study and control groups. However, there were statistically significant differences between the study and control group among individual perceived physical activity benefits and barriers, and median total perceived benefits and barriers scores. Subjects with SLE did not perceive physical activity as beneficial as the subjects in nursing school, and the subjects with SLE reported more barriers to physical activity than the subjects in nursing school. Nurses and healthcare professionals must continue to monitor patients with SLE for metabolic syndrome, assess level of education regarding physical activity, assess perceived benefits of and barriers to physical activity, and develop patient-centered, disease-specific interventions to eliminate barriers to physical activity participation. Future studies include a larger scale study to develop and implement symptom-specific physical activities, and interventional studies to determine if strategies to promote physical activities and reduce barriers are efficacious in the reduction of physical activity barriers.