The development of a subjective assessment framework for individuals presenting for clinical exercise services: A...

The American College of Sports Medicine and Exercise and Sports Science Australia recognise the importance of gathering a client history (subjective assessment) to inform clinical decisions for clients with chronic disease and/or disability. Despite the importance of the subjective assessment in problem-oriented exercise management, there is currently no primary evidence to indicate the important domains that should be addressed during the subjective assessment to guide safe and effective clinical decisions.

Modified e-Delphi METHODS: A panel of 32 experts was recruited with a median of 12 years of experience (Q₃=15.5 years; Q₁=10 years). The panel was asked to rate the importance of each domain in guiding clinical decisions on a 9-point Likert scale with consensus for inclusion or exclusion pre-defined at 80%.

The panel of experts elected that best practice for conducting the subjective assessment was a semi-structured approach using a combination of prompts and follow-up questions. The Delphi process resulted in an initial list of 36 domains that was identified by the panel of which 23 domains reached consensus for agreement after Round 3.

The subjective assessment is important for Clinical Exercise Physiologists to provide safe and effective services. Best practice for conducting the assessment is the semi-structured approach to prompt the clinician on the domains to include. Twenty three domains have been considered as important for a Clinical Exercise Physiologist to address in a subjective assessment to implement the delivery of safe and effective exercise assessment and/or prescription.