Developing content for national population health surveys: an example using a newly developed sedentary behaviour...

Area of Science:

• Public Health Surveillance
• Behavioral Science
• Survey Methodology

Background:

• Global physical activity surveillance is established, but sedentary behaviour surveillance is nascent.
• Accurate and consistent national survey measures are needed as sedentary behaviour surveillance evolves.
• Developing national health survey content is a complex, often undocumented process.

Purpose of the Study:

• To outline the process used by the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) and Statistics Canada to develop a sedentary behaviour module for the Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS).
• To provide a framework for the development of future national health survey content.
• To address the need for accurate measurement of emerging health topics like sedentary behaviour.

Main Methods:

• A multi-step development process was followed.
• Collaboration between PHAC, Statistics Canada, and academic experts.
• Included literature reviews, international scans, and qualitative testing.

Main Results:

• Key content requirements for a sedentary behaviour module were identified.
• Recommendations for a short, evidence-based questionnaire module (International Sedentary Assessment Tool) were developed.
• A final module was created using survey design best practices after qualitative testing.

Conclusions:

• National surveys face limitations in content volume, requiring concise, valid, and reliable questions.
• The developed module addresses the emerging area of sedentary behaviour for national surveillance.
• The process may serve as a model for future population survey content development.