Development of A Heart Health Attitude Scale for Adults in Turkey: A scale development study

Background: Examining adults' attitudes toward heart health can be effective in identifying and preventing cardiovascular disease risk, educating, and treating individuals. Aim: This study was designed to develop a valid and reliable measurement tool for assessing adult individuals' attitudes toward heart health. Methods: The sample for this methodological study consisted of 445 patients admitted to two university hospitals in the provinces of Eskişehir and Kocaeli for cardiological disorders. The research data were collected using a Personal Information Form and Adult Heart Health Attitude Scale (AHHAS). For the validity and reliability of the scale, test-retest analysis, content validity analysis, and item analyses were used, and exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed, and structural equation modeling was used for internal consistency and construct validity. Results: Based on expert opinion, the content validity index of the scale was calculated as 0.86. In the exploratory factor analysis, the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) coefficient was 0.643, and Bartlett’s Test of Significance was χ²=953.841, p<0.001. As a result of the factor analysis, the number of items was reduced from 45 to 28. The item-total correlation coefficients ranged from 0.430 to 0.864, leading to a 6-factor scale with 29 items, explaining 54.4% of the total variance. The factor loadings of the items ranged between 0.453 and 0.851, and Cronbach’s alpha value was between 0.446 and 0.718 for the sub-factors, and 0.834 for the total scale. Conclusion: As a result of the analyses, it was determined that AHHAS is a valid and reliable scale that can be used for the Turkish adult population. Healthcare providers can use AHHAS to determine adults’ attitudes toward heart health.