Validation of the Persian Version of the Exercise Adherence Rating Scale in Iranian Population: A Methodological Study

Adherence to exercise is the degree to which an individual’s behavior conforms to the agreed recommendations of healthcare providers.

This study was done to translate and validate the Exercise Adherence Rating Scale (EARS) in the Iranian population.

A total of 160 patients with musculoskeletal pain participated in this methodological and cross-sectional study. At first, the English version of EARS was translated into the Persian language. The translation process was applied in a forward and backward fashion by four native Persian speakers based on international guidelines. Content validity [content validity ratio (CVR), content validity index (CVI)], construct validity [exploratory factor analysis (EFA)], test-retest reliability, and internal consistency of the Persian version of the EARS were assessed.

The results showed that the Persian version of EARS is contently valid (CVR: 0.6 - 1, CVI: 0.8 - 1). Principal axis factoring for construct validity showed that the EARS items loaded to one component (adherence behavior: variance = 67.76%, adherence/nonadherence reasons: variance = 61.88%). Test-retest reliability analysis showed good to excellent reproducibility (0.88 - 1). The internal consistency of the translated questionnaire was in good ranges (0.7 - 0.74).

The translated version of EARS is a reliable and valid measure to assess exercise adherence. Our study results have implications for conducting comparative studies and clinical trials in the Iranian people who need home-based exercises.