Innovative Performance Evaluation of Personal Fitness Trainer: Rating Scale Development of Performance Index

Aims This research aimed to develop a performance index for personal fitness trainers (PIPFT) and validate the PIPFT. Methods The research methodology was divided into two parts: part 1 was based on the development of a draft PIPFT through focus group discussions with 14 experts, including academic specialists, fitness center business entrepreneurs, and experienced personal fitness trainers. Part 2 involved the validation of the quality of the draft PIPFT, consisting of three tests: firstly, for validity, where five experts evaluated content validity and obtained an average Item Content Validity Index (I-CVI) of 0.95; secondly, for reliability; and thirdly, for objectivity, where the draft PIPFT, which was improved to the field-test PIPFT, was then tested on 30 personal fitness trainers, with simultaneous evaluations by two assessors, achieving correlation coefficients of 0.93 and 0.94, respectively. Results Therefore, the field-test PIPFT is considered to be of high quality, demonstrating acceptable validity, excellent reliability, and excellent objectivity. The PIPFT consists of four dimensions and uses a 5-level rubric with a total score of 100 points. Conclusion This innovation can be used by fitness center business operators to genuinely assess the performance of personal fitness trainers.