Motivating Individuals With Lupus to Exercise

A Progressive Home-based Exercise Intervention for Persons With Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Physical activity and exercise are helpful for managing symptoms like fatigue in people living with systemic lupus erythematosus (lupus; SLE). Despite research supporting physical activity participation, people with lupus are often inactive and report being afraid to exercise. To that end, this project is a pilot randomized controlled trial for examining the efficacy of a home-based behavioral intervention based on social cognitive theory and motivational interviewing for increasing physical activity and decreasing fatigue.

Inclusion Criteria:

• diagnosis of Lupus
• be able to speak and read English
• being non-active defined as not engaging in regular activity (150 minutes or more of moderate physical activity per week)
• being impacted by fatigue defined as a score of 36 or higher on the fatigue severity scale

Exclusion Criteria:

• moderate or high risk for undertaking physical activity