Hispanic American osteoarthritis patients' and partners' perspectives regarding exercise: A qualitative study

Objective: Identify facilitators and barriers to engaging in exercise or other physical activity (PA) programs among Hispanics with knee OA (osteoarthritis) and to inform the development of a dyadic telehealth-delivered program. Design: Hispanics with symptomatic knee OA were recruited. Participants were asked to invite a family member/friend to join them in a semi-structured Zoom interview. Interviews, guided by the Theoretical Domains Framework of behavior change, explored participants' beliefs about exercise and identified barriers and facilitators to engaging in exercise or other PA programs. Transcripts were analyzed primarily using deductive content analysis in MAXQDA 2024. Results: Interviews were conducted with 8 female and 7 male patients (mean age: 67.7 years) and their chosen partners (10 spouses, 3 friends, 2 relatives). The most frequently mentioned facilitator of PA program uptake was participants' expectation that exercise would lead to positive outcomes, including improvement of OA-related symptoms. Another key facilitator to engaging in a PA intervention was access to professional guidance—both for initiating and implementing the program. Participants highlighted the importance of receiving prescriptions from providers and expert guidance (e.g., physical therapists). Barriers to participation were not prominent. There were limited concerns about telehealth navigation for most. However, some expressed lack of concordance with partner schedule and incompatible exercise pace/style as potential barriers. Conclusions: A telehealth PA intervention for knee OA would be well-received by Hispanics in the US southwest, particularly when prescribed and overseen by healthcare providers. Barriers to intervention participation were limited but included discordance with partner schedule and exercise pace.