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Published on: March 7, 2019
Validation of a Brief Physical Activity Assessment Tool for Adults With Limited Resources
Cheng Li1, Garry Auld2, Scott E Crouter3
1Institute of Biotechnology and Health, Beijing Academy of Science and Technology, Beijing, China.
Objective:
To validate a Brief Physical Activity Assessment Tool for the Expanded Food and Nutrition Program (EFNEP).
Design:
Phase 1: test-retest reliability based on 2 survey administrations; Phase 2: concurrent validity triangulated with accelerometer data; Phase 3: sensitivity to change and responsiveness and secondary analysis of EFNEP national dataset.
Setting:
Community centers and/or EFNEP classes across the US.
Participants:
Phase 1: 75 adults; Phase 2: 106 adults; and Phase 3: 53,393 adults.
Main Outcome Measures:
Test-retest reliability, concurrent validity, and sensitivity to change and responsiveness.
Analysis:
Test-retest reliability: intraclass correlation, κ, and Spearman correlation coefficient (SCC); concurrent validity: SCC; sensitivity to change: standardized response mean, effect size, and paired t tests; responsiveness: minimal important difference.
Results:
The Brief Physical Activity Assessment Tool's test-retest results were moderate (intraclass correlation = 0.77-0.84; κ = 0.55-0.61; SCC = 0.59-0.84). Concurrent validity differed by questions but was highest for the muscle-strengthening question (SCC = 0.87). All questions demonstrated moderate sensitivity to change and responsiveness. Patterns between non-Hispanics and Hispanics were similar.
Conclusions And Implications:
The study resulted in a brief, validated, nationally tested questionnaire for evaluating physical activity changes for non-Hispanic adults with limited resources, which could be included in short surveys. It could be further validated among other populations.
