Purpose: To develop and validate a Swedish questionnaire to measure propensity for behaviour change regarding food habits, physical activity and weight reduction in patients with hypertension.

Design: Cross-sectional design.

Methods: A total of 270 consecutive patients with hypertension diagnosed at four primary care centres in Sweden were included. The 6-item Swedish version of the Propensity to Achieve Healthy Lifestyle Scale (PAHLS) was developed to measure propensity for behaviour change regarding food habits, physical activity and weight reduction. The PAHLS (i.e., including three items for preparedness and three items for capacity) was developed by three multiprofessional researchers inspired by the transtheoretical model of behaviour change in collaboration with clinically active nurses. Data were collected by questionnaires on food habits (i.e., the Food Frequency Questionnaire), physical activity (the International Physical Activity Questionnaire), propensity for a healthy lifestyle (the PHLQ), as well as during a clinical examination. Exploratory (EFA) and confirmatory factor analyses (CFA), as well as Rasch analysis, were used.

Results: Of the 270 patients (50% women), 27% scored low levels of physical activity on the International Physical Activity Questionnaire, and 34% of the patients were obese (body mass index ≥30 kg/m2). The EFA (explaining 54% of the variance) showed unidimensionality for the PAHLS that was supported by both CFA and Rasch analyses. No floor and 1.9% ceiling effects were found. Multiple group CFA (an extension of structural equation modelling) showed that the PAHLS operated equivalently across both male and female patients. Internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha 0.83) and composite reliability (0.89) were good.

Conclusion: The initial testing of PAHLS provided good validity and reliability scores to measure propensity for behaviour change in patients with hypertension.

Relevance to Clinical Practice: The PAHLS can be used by nurses as a tool to simplify shared decision-making in relation to behavioural changes.