Self‐efficacy and goal importance in the prediction of physical disability in people following hospitalization: A prospective study

<jats:p>Objectives. This prospective study evaluates the role of self‐efficacy and goal importance in predicting decreases in disability in activities of everyday living. Method. Disability, self‐efficacy and goal importance were each assessed before and at 3 and 9 months after participants underwent joint replacement surgery. Results. Disability had decreased at 3 and 9 months post‐surgery assessments. Self‐efficacy beliefs were higher at 3 and 9 months following surgery while goal importance was increased at 9 months but not at 3 months. Medical variables and prior disability predicted disability at 3 months. Social‐cognitive variables did not contribute to the prediction of 3 months disability. Pre‐surgery goal importance and self‐efficacy at 3 months were independent predictors of disability at 9 months after controlling for pre‐surgery and 3 months disability. Evidence also suggested that goal importance and self‐efficacy interacted to predict levels of disability at 9 months following surgery. Conclusions. The findings demonstrate that recovery is governed not solely by medical phenomena but also by psychological variables and suggest that modification of these variables may have an impact on recovery outcomes. Moreover, attention should be paid to the timing of such intervention and to the length of follow‐up.</jats:p>