An International Physical Exercise Screening Questionnaire (IPESQ)

Existing self-administered, pre-participation screening questionnaires for physical exercise have not demonstrated high take-up rates in many populations. There is evidence that part of the reason for this may be the language of these questionnaires and difficulty in understanding these questions by lay persons, especially those with existing medical conditions that may be of concern if engaging in physical exercise. The medical referral rates for existing questionnaires appears excessive. There has also not been a demonstrable decrease in sports emergencies following current use of these questionnaires.

Based on the lessons learnt from previous surveys and the evidence behind existing questionnaires, an eight-question International Physical Exercise Screening Questionnaire (IPESQ) is proposed. This paper discusses the roles played by pre-participation screening questionnaires in preventing or minimizing the occurrence of sports emergencies, desired characteristics of pre-participation exercise screening questionnaires and describes the justification for each of the IPESQ questions and how the Questionnaire may be implemented. It proposes a tool that is based on studies that have actively sought public feedback, and used the level of evidence currently available in the scientific literature as proof of relevance and usefulness.

The proposed IPESQ will need to be actively implemented and its impact determined with monitoring of sports-related emergency rates. It is relevant to an international audience, since sports emergencies such as cardiovascular collapse, injuries and heat illnesses are universal phenomena. The IPESQ can be regarded as a promising but not yet proven instrument to minimize the occurrence of sports emergencies.