The role of self-efficacy in older peopleʹs decisions to initiate and maintain regular walking as exercise — Findings from a qualitative study

Objective To study the role of self-efficacy within the process of initiating and maintaining regular walking as exercise for older people. Methods A post-trial interview study was carried out among a sub-sample of participants from a trial to evaluate the effect of a self-efficacy walking intervention for older Taiwanese people with moderate hypertension. To fit the study objective purposive sampling was used to sample those participants who were potentially information rich. A thematic analysis was used to identify emergent themes using a ‘Framework’ model. The study was conducted in Taiwan in 2004. Results Twenty-two participants were interviewed. A number of themes and sub-themes were generated from the analysis to explain older peopleʹs views about initiating and maintaining regular walking as exercise. These included enjoyment and the sense of achievement in being a regular walker; learning from or sharing experiences with other walkers; and their sense of well being during a period of regular walking. Discussion The factors older interviewees discussed were consistent with self-efficacy theory. The post-trial interviews suggest that the use of self-efficacy was an essential component in explaining the success of the community-based walking program in the original trial.