Cardiac rehabilitation exercise adherence: The influence of exercise benefits, barriers, locus of control, and intrinsic motivation

lthough regular exercise is a known effective primary and secondary treatment for cardiovascular disease, cardiac rehabilitation program participation is low. The purpose of this cross-sectional, comparative survey was to investigate motivational factors related to exercise adherence (ExA) in patients who have experienced a cardiac event (Myocardial Infarction (MI), Percutaneous Transluminal Coronary Angioplasty (PTCA), Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG)). Variables examined included age, gender, exercise benefits and barriers, Locus of Control (LOC), Intrinsic Motivation, exercise program organization (hospital-based or independent), and the length of time since the cardiac event. A combination of Exercise Benefits and Barriers, Locus of Control Theory, and Cognitive Evaluation Theory served as a theoretical base.;Participants were randomly selected from 8944 patients admitted to a central Illinois hospital between 1/1/95 and 4/30/97. Seventy-one women and 155 men, with an average age of 65.5 years, participated. The sample was grouped by time since the cardiac event, program type, and exercise behavior (exerciser or nonexerciser). Exercise adherence was defined as the average of the Z-score of exercise frequency, duration, and intensity. Statistical analyses included correlation, one-way and two-way ANOVAs and Multiple Regression.;No relationship was found between ExA and gender, powerful others locus of control, exercise program organization, or cardiac event temporal distance. Age, chance LOC, and the Multidimensional Health LOC total showed mixed ExA relationships. All remaining variables were significantly related to ExA.;All exercise groups other than those in a hospital-based Phase III program for...