Cardiovascular Management Self-efficacy: Psychometric Properties of a New Scale and Its Usefulness in a Rehabilitation Context

Background: Self-efficacy beliefs have been shown to affect various effective health-promoting behaviors in patients. Unfortunately, availability of reliable and valid measures of self-efficacy in cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) is still very limited. Purpose: The aims of this study were to present a new scale measuring self-efficacy beliefs in managing CVD and to examine its psychometric properties. Methods: The study involved 172 patients (mean age = 66.4 years; SD = 9.99 years; 76.2 % men) undergoing cardiovascular rehabilitation. Various psychological factors and CVD severity indicators were collected. Results: An Exploratory Structural Equation Model showed that the Cardiovascular Management Self-efficacy Scale has three factors: Cardiac Risk Factors, Adherence to Therapy, and Recognition of Symptoms. They all showed high internal consistency, and good convergent, discriminant, and predictive validity. Furthermore, these factors showed significant relations with CVD severity indicators. Conclusions: The Cardiovascular Management Self-efficacy Scale could be a helpful instrument to monitor differences during interventions to improve good disease management.