Development of a physical literacy assessment model for adults in China: a modified Delphi study

Physical literacy (PL) is emerging as a promising strategy to address the crisis of physical inactivity, promote active lifestyles, improve physical fitness and reduce the risk of chronic diseases throughout life. Therefore, the aim of this study was to develop a PL assessment model for adults in China.

This is a Delphi study.

The following three-step design process was conducted: (1) drafting a preliminary framework for PL assessment through a literature review and telephone interview with experts; (2) a two-round Delphi survey with the experts was used to select items for inclusion in the PL assessment model; (3) the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used to quantify the weight of each item included in the final PL assessment model.

A total of 13 experts completed a two-round Delphi survey. After round 1, three domains, 11 sub-domains and 21 elements were identified. Two elements were added after the first-round Delphi survey. In round 2, strong consensus was obtained and a final PL assessment model, including three domains, 11 sub-domains and 23 elements, was established. Specific weights of physical activity (PA) cognition, PA-related behaviour and physical competence were 0.330, 0.347 and 0.323, respectively. In addition, the weights of sub-domains and elements were also calculated.

This study established a PL assessment model and identified specific weights for the individual domains. This study represents the first step in developing a PL assessment tool for adults in China. Further research should focus on developing the PL assessment tool and verifying its validity and reliability.