[Effects of the exercise self-efficacy and exercise benefits/barriers on doing regular exercise of the elderly].

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of exercise self-efficacy and exercise benefits/barriers on doing regular exercise among elderly.

Methods: The subjects were 484 older adults who were eligible and agreed to participate in this study. Data were collected from July 27 to September 21, 2007 by face-to-face, and private interviews. The questionnaires consisted of Exercise Self-efficacy, and Exercise Benefits/Barriers. The collected data were analyzed with the SPSS 13.0 program, which was used for frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, t-test, ANOVA, and logistic regression.

Results: The major findings of this study were as follows: 1) Approximately 56.8% of participants were doing regular exercise. Study participants' exercise self-efficacy mean score was 36.30, exercise benefits 2.74, and exercise barriers 2.03; 2) There was significant correlation between exercise self-efficacy and exercise benefits; 3) Significant factors influencing regular exercise were self-efficacy, exercise benefits and exercise barriers.

Conclusion: These results suggested that nurses should emphasize exercise benefits/barriers and reinforce self-efficacy to improve regular exercise in the elderly.