| Background. Fibromyalgia is a syndrome of chronic widespread pain, fatigue, and impaired sleep affecting 3.5% of adult women, which is associated with reduced physical fitness and difficulty adopting and maintaining regular participation in leisure time physical activity (LTPA).; Purpose. The purpose of the study was to develop a substantive theory that identifies and describes the processes and factors that explain varying levels of participation in LTPA among women with fibromyalgia.; Method. The study used a grounded theory research design with semistructured interviews supplemented by questionnaires and a physical activity log. The researcher conducted a constant comparative analysis of the interview transcriptions aided by NVIVO software to develop a substantive theory. Quantitative data were analyzed using STATA software. Memo writing, code checking, and member checking were used to ensure acceptable rigor.; Results. A sample of twenty consenting women with a diagnosis of fibromyalgia (median age = 53) was recruited from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, between Sept. 2002 and July 2003. An emergent theoretical framework was developed that specifies that a pattern of regular participation in LTPA is achieved by accumulating sessions of LTPA through five phases of participation: uncommitted, beginner, intermediate, mature, and integrated. A session is the basic unit of the process and it consists of five ordered stages: forming intent, deciding, planning and preparing, starting, and doing. The stages and the phases are influenced at each juncture by barriers, facilitators, strategies, and outcomes. Disruptions in the process may occur at any stage or phase. The theoretical framework was compared to three theories of Health Behaviour Change and was found to be complementary rather than antipathetic to them.; Conclusions. The emergent theoretical framework provides detail regarding expected outcomes, barriers, facilitators, outcomes to LTPA experienced by women with fibromyalgia that could serve: (a) to formulate appropriate measurement tools for important concepts of the predictive theories, and (b) to fashion interventions that are sensitive to the needs of this population. It also uncovers particular issues related to participation in LTPA not emphasized by the general theories including the particular difficulties experienced with starting a session of LTPA. |
