The relationship between health expectations and compliance among cardiac rehabilitation participants

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to describe the relationship between health expectations and compliance in persons who were attending a cardiac rehabilitation program. Three subscales of the Olivas Health Motivation Scale were administered to a convenience sample of 23 subjects at two points in time: at the beginning and at the completion of the prescribed sessions. A significant relationship was found between Stimulus Outcome Expectations and the duration of exercise at the beginning of the cardiac rehabilitation sessions (r = -.51, p =.02). The relationship between Regimen Efficacy Expectations and the duration of exercise was also found to be significant at the beginning of the sessions (r = -.40, p =.05). There was no significant relationship between health expectations and compliance at the completion of the sessions. One measure of health expectations, Stimulus Outcome Expectations (F = 10.11, p =.01), and two measures of compliance, duration of exercise (F = 406.45, p =.00) and metabolic equivalents (F = 74.14, p =.00), were significantly different between the beginning and the completion of cardiac rehabilitation.