RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Reliability and validity of a brief physical activity assessment for use by family doctors
JF British Journal of Sports Medicine
JO Br J Sports Med
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and British Association of Sport and Exercise Medicine
SP 294
OP 297
DO 10.1136/bjsm.2004.013771
VO 39
IS 5
A1 A L Marshall
A1 B J Smith
A1 A E Bauman
A1 S Kaur
YR 2005
UL http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/39/5/294.abstract
AB Objective: To evaluate the reliability and validity of a brief physical activity assessment tool suitable for doctors to use to identify inactive patients in the primary care setting.Methods: Volunteer family doctors (n  =  8) screened consenting patients (n  =  75) for physical activity participation using a brief physical activity assessment tool. Inter-rater reliability was assessed within one week (n  =  71). Validity was assessed against an objective physical activity monitor (computer science and applications accelerometer; n  =  42).Results: The brief physical activity assessment tool produced repeatable estimates of “sufficient total physical activity”, correctly classifying over 76% of cases (κ 0.53, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.33 to 0.72). The validity coefficient was reasonable (κ 0.40, 95% CI 0.12 to 0.69), with good percentage agreement (71%).Conclusions: The brief physical activity assessment tool is a reliable instrument, with validity similar to that of more detailed self report measures of physical activity. It is a tool that can be used efficiently in routine primary healthcare services to identify insufficiently active patients who may need physical activity advice.