Background. Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are a leading cause of premature death worldwide.
International guidelines recommend routine delivery of all phases of cardiac rehabilitation (CR).
Uptake of traditional cardiac rehabilitation remains suboptimal, as attendance at formal hospital-based
CR programmes is low, with community-based CR rates and individual long-term exercise
maintenance even lower. Home-based CR programs have been shown to be equally effective in
clinical and health-related quality of life outcomes, and yet are not readily available.
Purpose. The aim of the current study was to develop the PATHway intervention (Physical Activity
Towards Health) for the self-management of cardiovascular disease. Increasing physical activity in
individuals with CVD was the primary behaviour.
Methods. The PATHway intervention was theoretically informed by the Behaviour Change Wheel
(BCW) and Social Cognitive Theory (SCT). All relevant intervention functions, behaviour change
techniques (BCTs) and policy categories were identified and translated into intervention content.
Furthermore, a person-centred approach was adopted involving an iterative co-design process and
extensive user-testing.
Results. Education, enablement, modelling, persuasion, training and social restructuring were
selected as appropriate intervention functions. Twenty-two BCTs, linked to the 6 intervention functions
and 3 policy categories were identified for inclusion and translated into PATHway intervention content.
Conclusions. This paper details the use of the BCW and SCT to develop an eHealth intervention for
the self-management of CVD. The systematic and transparent development of the PATHway
intervention will facilitate the evaluation of intervention effectiveness and future replication.