Psychometric properties of the Italian version of the EMIQ-HP (Exercise in Mental Illness Questionnaire-Health Professionals Version) to investigate the views of health professionals regarding exercise for treatment of mental illness

Objective: People with mental illness experience a significantly increased mortality rate, partly attributable to high rates of premature metabolic disease. Exercise is increasingly recognized as an evidence-based component of treatment for improving both physical and mental illness. Ensuring health care staff have the necessary competence to support and promote exercise is critical to successful implementation. The Exercise in Mental Illness Questionnaire-Health Professionals Version (EMIQ-HP) was developed to determine the knowledge, attitudes, barriers, and behaviors of health practitioners regarding the role of exercise in the treatment for mental illness. This study aimed to translate and validate the questionnaire into Italian language (EMIQ-HP-IT) and to determine its test-retest reliability. Method: The questionnaire was translated from English to Italian then back translated using an established protocol. To determine the test-retest reliability of the EMIQ-HP-IT, mental health professionals from an Italian psychiatric hospital completed the questionnaire on two separate occasions, seven days apart. Intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC) were calculated for each item. Twenty-five mental health professionals (4 psychiatrists, 9 psychologists, 10 nurses and 2 exercise specialists) completed the EMIQ-HP-IT. Results: Except for two items, ICCs ranged from 0.48 to 0.92. The test-retest reliability of the EMIQ-HP-IT demonstrated comparable results to the English version. Conclusions: The EMIQ-HP-IT is a reliable measure of practitioners’ knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors regarding exercise interventions for people with mental illness.