Resistance or appropriation? : Uptake of exercise after a nurse-led intervention to promote self-management for osteoarthritis.

Morden, A; Ong, BN; Jinks, C; Healey, EL; Finney, A; Dziedzic, KS

Abstract

The philosophical underpinning of trials of complex interventions is critiqued for not taking into account causal mechanisms that influence potential outcomes. In this article, we draw from in-depth interviews (with practice nurses and patients) and observations of practice meetings and consultations to investigate the outcomes of a complex intervention to promote self-management (in particular exercise) for osteoarthritis in primary care settings. We argue that nurses interpreted the intervention as underpinned by the need to educate rather than work with patients, and, drawing from Habermasian theory, we argue that expert medicalised knowledge (system) clashed with lay 'lifeworld' prerogatives in an uneven communicative arena (the consultation). In turn, the advice and instructions given to patients were not always commensurate with their 'lifeworld'. Consequently, patients struggled to embed exercise routines into their daily lives for reasons of unsuitable locality, sense-making that 'home' was an inappropriate place to exercise and using embodied knowledge to test the efficacy of exercise on pain. We conclude by arguing that using Habermasian theory helped to understand reasons why the trial failed to increase exercise levels. Our findings suggest that communication styles influence the outcomes of self-management interventions, reinforce the utility of theoretically informed qualitative research embedded within trials to improve conduct and outcomes and indicate incorporating perspectives from human geography can enhance Habermas-informed research and theorising.

Citation

Morden, A., Ong, B., Jinks, C., Healey, E., Finney, A., & Dziedzic, K. (2020). Resistance or appropriation? : Uptake of exercise after a nurse-led intervention to promote self-management for osteoarthritis. Health: An Interdisciplinary Journal for the Social Study of Health, Illness and Medicine, 26(2), https://doi.org/10.1177/1363459320925879

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 22, 2020
• Online Publication Date: Jun 2, 2020
• Publication Date: Jun 2, 2020
• Journal: Health: An Interdisciplinary Journal for the Social Study of Health, Illness and Medicine
• Print ISSN: 1363-4593
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 26
• Issue: 2
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1363459320925879
• Keywords: Osteoarthritis, complex interventions, qualitative methods, Habermas, process evaluation, public health
• Publisher URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1363459320925879
• PMID: 32486866