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CHAMPS physical activity questionnaire for older adults: outcomes for interventions
A L Stewart1, K M Mills, A C King
1University of California San Francisco, Institute for Health & Aging, San Francisco, CA 94143-0646, USA. anitast@itsa.ucsf.edu
Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise
|July 11, 2001
Summary
A new physical activity questionnaire for older adults demonstrates good reliability and sensitivity to change, making it a valuable tool for evaluating health interventions like the Community Healthy Activities Model Program for Seniors (CHAMPS).
Area of Science:
- Gerontology
- Public Health
- Exercise Science
Background:
- Effective interventions to boost physical activity in older adults require reliable measurement tools.
- Existing measures may not capture the nuances of physical activity changes in this demographic.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce and validate a self-report physical activity questionnaire for older adults.
- To assess the questionnaire's suitability for evaluating the Community Healthy Activities Model Program for Seniors (CHAMPS) intervention.
Main Methods:
- The questionnaire assesses weekly physical activity frequency and duration, calculating caloric expenditure and a summary frequency measure.
- Measures were developed for moderate-to-vigorous intensity activities (MET >/= 3.0) and all specified activities, including light intensity.
- Six-month stability was assessed, alongside construct validity and sensitivity to change based on the CHAMPS intervention.
Main Results:
- The study included 249 participants (mean age 74 years, 64% women).
- Six-month stability ranged from 0.58 to 0.67 (intraclass correlation coefficients).
- The questionnaire demonstrated sensitivity to change (P < or = 0.01) with small to moderate effect sizes (0.38-0.64).
Conclusions:
- The developed CHAMPS physical activity measure is a reliable and valid tool.
- It is suitable for evaluating interventions aimed at increasing physical activity levels in older adults.