Measuring capabilities in health and physical activity promotion: a systematic review

Abstract

Background The capability approach by Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum has gained increasing attention in the field of public health. As it combines individual, social and structural factors and shifts the focus of attention from the actual behavior towards available options for health behaviors that people can actually choose from, it may help advance our understanding of complex health issues. Objectives The aim of this article is to identify and describe tools available to measure capabilities within the context of health, with a specific focus on capabilities for health-enhancing physical activity. Method We conducted a systematic literature review using 11 databases covering scientific journal articles published in English or German between the years 2000 and 2020 with a focus on capabilities for health or physical activity. Results We found a total of 51 articles meeting our inclusion criteria. Four articles measured capabilities using qualitative methods, one combined qualitative and quantitative methods, while the rest used quantitative methods. We identified a total 11 different capability questionnaires, all showing moderate to good validity/reliability. Only one questionnaire and one interview-based tool specifically dealt with capabilities for health enhancing physical activity. Conclusion Although we were able to identify measurement tools for capabilities in health, this review has shown that there is no generic tool available for the measurement across all population- and age-groups, and tools focusing on physical activity are scarce. However, our results can be used as guide for future projects that aim at measuring capabilities.

Messung von Handlungsmöglichkeiten (capabilities) für körperliche Aktivität: Entwicklung und Erprobung eines Messinstruments für ältere Menschen

“…Senior:innen) erfolgen müssen. Bislang fehlen geeignete Messinstrumente zur standardisierten Erhebung bewegungsbezogener capabilities, wie eine systematische Übersichtsarbeit zeigt 20 . Auch fehlt bislang eine verständliche Formulierung von Fragebogenitems, um das komplexe Capability-Konstrukt adäquat zu erfassen.…”

The Achieved Capabilities Questionnaire for Community Mental Health (ACQ‐CMH): A consumer‐based measure for the evaluation of community mental health interventions

“…Fourteen newly developed instruments were identified, most of them with some evidence of psychometric properties, although further information about practical and theoretical characteristics of these measures is recommended to properly choose and apply them in both research and intervention. Another recent systematic review, concerning capabilities measurement in health, identified 11 questionnaires with good validity and reliability evidence (Till et al, 2021 ). These two literature reviews identified, so far, two capabilities instruments for mental health in intervention assessment (Helter et al, 2019 ; Till et al, 2021 ).…”

“…Another recent systematic review, concerning capabilities measurement in health, identified 11 questionnaires with good validity and reliability evidence (Till et al, 2021 ). These two literature reviews identified, so far, two capabilities instruments for mental health in intervention assessment (Helter et al, 2019 ; Till et al, 2021 ). Both are multidimensional and self‐reported measures.…”