Low motivation to exercise is one of the barriers to participation in cardiac rehabilitation. Fear of activity after a cardiac event is associated with low levels of physical activity. This study aimed to develop and validate a scale to measure fear of activity in patients with coronary artery disease. A scale for Fear of ACTivity in patients with CAD (Fact-CAD) was created through semi-structured focus group interviews with patients. Face and content validity of Fact-CAD was verified. The scale was applied to 250 patients who had myocardial infarction, coronary artery bypass grafting or percutaneous coronary intervention within the last 12 months. Psychometric analysis included model fit, unidimensionality, reliability, local dependency, differential item functioning and external construct validity. Analyses were performed using the Rasch Analysis Model.
Low motivation to exercise is one of the barriers to participation in cardiac rehabilitation. Fear of activity after a cardiac event is associated with low levels of physical activity. This study aimed to develop and validate a scale to measure fear of activity in patients with coronary artery disease.