Impact of Telephone Reinforcement and Negotiated Contracts on Behavioral Predictors of Exercise Maintenance in Older Adults with Osteoarthritis

Objectives: To examine the impact of telephone reinforcement (TR) on pre- dictors of physical activity (PA) mainte- nance in older adults with osteoarthritis. Methods: Mixed effects modeling was conducted of data from a randomized PA trial that used negotiated maintenance contracts, supplemented by TR, to test impact of TR on barriers, decisional balance, and stage of change at multiple points in time. Results: Participants who were referred to a PA program and received TR improved the most in barriers and decisional balance. Participants who negotiated a tailored maintenance contract but did not receive TR improved the most in stage. Conclusions: TR appears to positively affect perceptions around engagement, whereas negotiation positively impacts PA behavior. Further research should examine the effectiveness of specific PA maintenance strategies.