Background: Due to the increasing availability of medical-grade cannabis for treatment of chronic conditions, we examined how prospective users navigate the process of researching, procuring, and using cannabis. Given the barriers prospective users experience, self-efficacy may be a factor for those who incorporate cannabis into treatment. Aims:…

Background: Research evidence supports the assertion that healthy employees are happier and more productive. Employers prefer to hire healthy workers to reduce absenteeism. Rehabilitation counselors have started to explore health promotion interventions to help individuals with chronic health conditions and disability improve their physical and…

Chronic pain is an increasing public health concern, with an associated poor quality of life. Social media platforms play an increasing role in health communication issues, but visual platforms such as Pinterest are understudied. This study analyzed 502 Pinterest posts for chronic pain--related variables, including health belief model constructs,…

Chronic pain is an exponentially increasing issue for aging adults in the United States and has stretched the limits of technology and the ability of health care professionals to provide adequate care. Chronic pain deprives individuals of their independence, confidence, quality of life, and often their primary support groups while leaving them…

Objectives: To develop and assess a housestaff curriculum on opioid and other substance abuse among patients with chronic noncancer pain (CNCP). Methods: The two-hour, case-based curriculum delivered to small groups of medical housestaff sought to improve assessment and management of opioid-treated CNCP patients, including those with a substance…

Purpose: Many older patients with common chronic conditions also experience chronic pain. We examined how chronic pain affects patients' difficulty with recommended self-management activities and the potential intervening role of self-efficacy (the level of confidence in one's own ability to perform a specific task). Design and Methods: We…

Tested the predictive power of self-efficacy expectations of physical capabilities, expectations of pain, and expectations of reinjury on physical function in chronic back pain patients. Before assessment of function, patients rated their abilities to perform essential job tasks--functional self-efficacy (FSE)--and the likelihood working would…

Purpose: We present final outcomes from the multiple-component Fit and Strong! intervention for older adults with lower extremity osteoarthritis. Design and Methods: A randomized controlled trial compared the effects of this exercise and behavior-change program followed by home-based reinforcement (n = 115) with a wait list control (n = 100) at 2,…

This study tested a theoretical model concerning religious, passive, and active coping; pain; and psychological adjustment among a sample of 200 Latinos with arthritis. Respondents reported using high levels of religious coping. A path analysis indicated that religious coping was correlated with active but not with passive coping. Religious coping…

This paper draws a socio-demographic, physical, psychosocial, and behavioural profile of housebound older adults with arthritis and compares older adults with rheumatoid arthritis to those with osteoarthritis. Data from 125 housebound older adults with osteoarthritis (65%) or rheumatoid arthritis (35%) were compared to published samples and to…