Development and validation of heart-healthy dietary educational material (HHDEM) for the secondary prevention of coronary artery disease

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Coronary artery disease (CAD) poses a significant global health burden. The adoption of healthy dietary behaviors is vital for the secondary prevention of CAD. However, there is limited availability of dietary educational materials tailored for patients with CAD, particularly in Malaysia, to support this process. Therefore, this study aimed to develop and validate dietary educational material for the secondary prevention of CAD. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study employed a design and developmental research methodology conducted in three phases. Phase I focused on content analysis. Phase II centered on the design and development of the educational material, and Phase III involved evaluating its content and face validity through feedback from experts and intended users. Content Validity Index (CVI) scores of 0.80 or higher were considered acceptable for content validity, while face validity was established with at least 75% positive responses for each item. RESULTS: The heart-healthy dietary educational material (HHDEM) was developed as dietary educational material for the secondary prevention of CAD. It achieved Item-level CVI scores ranging from 0.89 to 1.00 and an overall Scale Content Validity Index (S-CVI/AVE) of 0.98, demonstrating strong content validity. For face validity, there was a high level of agreement between experts and intended users across all components, with percentages ranging from 90.0% to 92.6%. These results indicate that HHDEM meets the desired standards for use by patients with CAD. CONCLUSION: The dietary educational material, HHDEM, designed for patients with CAD, illustrated excellent content and face validity. HHDEM has the potential to serve as a comprehensive resource for adopting healthy dietary patterns to prevent secondary CAD.