The Mediterranean dietary pattern has been linked with lower incidence of cardiovascular disease and the Mediterranean diet scale (MDS) has been created to incorporate and test the inherent characteristics of this dietary pattern. This study aimed to psychometrically validate a self-administered version of the MDS in cardiac rehabilitation (CR) patients in Canada. To establish content validity, the scale was reviewed by an expert interdisciplinary panel. A final version of the tool was tested in 150 CR patients. Cronbach's alpha was 0.69. All ICC coefficients met the minimum recommended standard. Factor analysis revealed four factors, all internally consistent. Criterion validity was supported by significant differences in total scores by duration in CR. Construct validity was supported by agreements between the self-administered MDS and original MDS in all items and with the 3-day food record in 8 of 13 items. In conclusion, the self-administered version of the MDS demonstrated good reliability and validity.

Background: Although patient education is considered a core component of cardiac rehabilitation (CR) programs, to our knowledge, no educational program designed for CR has been standardized in Canada. This absence of standardization may be due to a lack of reliable resources to educate these patients. The objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of an education intervention in Material and Methods Design and procedureThis study was a prospective longitudinal study in design, with assessments undertaken pre-and post-CR. Ethics approval CJC Open -(2020) 1e8Ethics Statement: The research reported has adhered to the relevant ethical guidelines.

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