Abstract
The aim of this study was to examine the role of explicit and implicit attitudes in the improvement of exercise capacity during a 5-week pulmonary rehabilitation (PR). A total of 105 patients performed walking tests at baseline and at the end of PR. Change between performances was computed at the end of PR, and Minimal-Clinically-Important-Difference (MCID) were used to categorize patients as responders (i.e. change above MCID, N = 54) or non-responders (i.e. change below MCID, N = 51). At baseline, implicit attitudes were measured through a physical activity versus sedentary behavior Implicit Association Test; explicit attitudes toward physical activity and sedentary behavior were measured by questionnaires. Only implicit attitudes significantly differed between the two groups (p = .015), responders displaying implicit attitudes significantly more in favor of physical activity (M = .91, SD = .54) than non-responders (M = .60, SD = .71) at baseline. Measuring implicit attitudes in PR could help to accurately estimate patients’ motivation, and design more individualized rehabilitation programs.
Notes
1. This study is based on a larger dataset aiming at investigating the role of motivation in different PR’s outcomes. Changes in implicit and explicit motivational processes during PR, and their role in 6-month post-rehabilitation physical activity and sedentary behaviors were examined in a first study (Chevance, Héraud, Varray, & Boiché, Citation2017a). The present study completes these previous results by examining the associations between baseline implicit and explicit attitudes and the improvement of exercise tolerance during a PR program. These results are presenting in two separate studies because physical activity maintenance post-rehabilitation and the improvement of exercise tolerance at the end of a PR program are two different and specific outcomes (see Zwerink, Palen, Valk, Brusse-Keizer, & Effing, Citation2013).