Abstract
Background: Readiness to change plays a significant role in patient adherence to an exercise regimen; thus, accurate assessment of readiness to change is necessary to direct interventions. To date, an accurate scale for measuring readiness to exercise after cardiac surgery is not available.
Objectives: The purpose of this study was to develop the Readiness to Change Exercise Questionnaire for use among Thai cardiac surgery patients and to evaluate its psychometric properties.
Methods: The Readiness to Change Exercise Questionnaire was developed based on the Transtheoretical Model, a comprehensive literature review, and input from experts and cardiac surgery patients. Participants were 533 patients who had undergone cardiac surgery within the previous 3 months. The study was conducted in 7 hospitals in 4 geographical regions of Thailand.
Results: Confirmatory factor analysis showed satisfactory goodness of fit for the 13-item scale. The analysis supported a 4-factor structure corresponding to 4 readiness stages: precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, and action. Cronbach's [alpha] coefficients were .68 for precontemplation, .75 for contemplation, .72 for preparation, and .75 for action.
Conclusions: The scale was found to be a valid and reliable instrument for the determination of patient readiness to exercise after cardiac surgery. However, further testing of the scale is needed to confirm its concurrent and predictive validity.