Self-efficacy in Activities of daily living and symptom management in people with dizziness : a focus group study

BACKGROUND: Self-efficacy is associated with health status, health behaviour and health behaviour change in various chronic health conditions. PURPOSE: To describe self-efficacy in relation to Activities of daily living and symptom management in people with dizziness. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Thirteen women and three men, aged 45-82 years, with persistent dizziness (duration 4 months to 30 years) were recruited from an outpatient physiotherapy unit. A qualitative study was conducted using four focus groups and one individual interview and was then analysed with qualitative content analysis. RESULTS: The participants conveyed, in-depth information concerning two predefined main categories. Self-efficacy in Activities of daily living was related to challenging body positions and motions, environments, social activities, work tasks, and complex cognitive behaviours. Self-efficacy in symptom management was related to distress and aggravated symptoms, unfamiliar environment, and unknown people. CONCLUSIONS: People with dizziness describe how self-efficacy for specific activities varies according to the perceived difficulty of the task, the context of the activity, and day-to-day variations in general wellbeing. The results underscore the importance of targeting self-efficacy in the rehabilitation of people with dizziness. Our findings can guide the rehabilitation process by providing a deeper understanding of self-efficacy judgements in relation to Activities of daily living and symptom management in people with dizziness. Implication for rehabilitation This study adds important in-depth knowledge to the rehabilitation area on self-efficacy beliefs in relation to Activities of daily living and symptom management in people with dizziness. Self-efficacy for specific activities varies according to the perceived difficulty of the task, the context in which the activity takes place and day-to-day variations in perceived general well-being. The results can be used as a topic list to guide rehabilitation efforts in exploring and intervening aspects of people's everyday activities that are affected by low self-efficacy judgements. Activities perceived to be crucial to everyday life and important for well-being should be targeted in rehabilitation to increase self-efficacy and thereby activity performance and participation in people with dizziness.