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Visualization of Intensity Levels to Reduce the Gap Between Self-Reported and Directly Measured Physical Activity
Published on: March 7, 2019
Measuring physical activity change in broad-reach intervention trials
Marina M Reeves1, Alison L Marshall, Neville Owen
1Cancer Prevention Research Centre, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
Journal of Physical Activity & Health
|May 21, 2010
Summary
Brief physical activity questionnaires like the USNHIS and AAQ show good responsiveness to change. These measures are effective for broad-reach trials, offering comparability and low burden compared to longer tools.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Epidemiology
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Assessing physical activity is crucial for public health interventions.
- Self-report measures are commonly used but vary in length and detail.
- Understanding the responsiveness of these measures to intervention is key.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the responsiveness to change of three self-report physical activity measures.
- To evaluate the utility of brief versus detailed questionnaires in intervention studies.
Main Methods:
- A cluster-randomized trial involving 381 primary care patients.
- Physical activity assessed at baseline and 4 months using CHAMPS, AAQ, and USNHIS questionnaires.
- Responsiveness calculated for frequency and duration of walking and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity.
Main Results:
- USNHIS and AAQ demonstrated strong responsiveness for walking frequency and duration.
- CHAMPS showed good responsiveness for walking duration and moderate-to-vigorous activity duration.
- AAQ showed slightly higher responsiveness for moderate-to-vigorous activity frequency.
Conclusions:
- Brief self-report measures (USNHIS, AAQ) are valuable in broad-reach trials.
- These brief measures offer comparability to population estimates and reduce respondent burden.
- They can be used without compromising responsiveness to change compared to more detailed measures like CHAMPS.
