Physical Activity Questionnaires for Pregnancy: A Systematic Review of Measurement Properties

Abstract

BackgroundIn order to assess physical activity (PA) during pregnancy, it is important to choose the instrument with the best measurement properties.ObjectivesTo systematically summarize, appraise, and compare the measurement properties of all self-administered questionnaires assessing PA in pregnancy.MethodsWe searched PubMed, Embase, and SPORTDiscus with the following inclusion criteria: (i) the study reported at least one measurement property (reliability, criterion validity, construct validity, responsiveness) of a self-administered questionnaire; (ii) the questionnaire intended to measure PA; (iii) the questionnaire was evaluated in healthy pregnant women; and (iv) the study was published in English. We evaluated results, quality of individual studies, and quality of evidence using a standardized checklist (Quality Assessment of Physical Activity Questionnaires [QAPAQ]) and the GRADE (Grading of Recommendation, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation) approach.ResultsSeventeen articles, reporting 18 studies of 11 different PA questionnaires (17 versions), were included. Most questionnaire versions showed insufficient measurement properties. Only the French and Turkish versions of the Pregnancy Physical Activity Questionnaire (PPAQ) showed both sufficient reliability and construct validity. However, all versions of the PPAQ pooled together showed insufficient construct validity. The quality of individual studies was usually high for reliability but varied considerably for construct validity. Overall, the quality of evidence was very low to moderate.ConclusionsWe recommend the PPAQ to assess PA in pregnancy, although the pooled results revealed insufficient construct validity. The lack of appropriate standards in data collection and processing criteria for objective devices in measuring PA during pregnancy attenuates the quality of evidence. Therefore, research on the validity of comparison instruments in pregnancy followed by consensus on validation reference criteria and standards of PA measurement is needed.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s40279-018-0961-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Current Evidence of Measurement Properties of Physical Activity Questionnaires for Older Adults: An Updated Systematic Review

“…Consistent with our previous review [18], we did not evaluate measurement properties regarding the internal structure of the questionnaire (structural validity, internal consistency Table 1 Definition of measurement properties for PA questionnaires, adapted from the COSMIN methodology [135] (p. 743)…”

“…If no agreement could be reached, a third researcher (LBM, MVP) was consulted. Consistent with our previous reviews [18,28], we extracted all relevant information using a standardized form. This form was based on the Quality Assessment of Physical Activity Questionnaire (QAPAQ) checklist [36].…”

“…Already in 2000, Sallis and Saelens [15] recognized a profusion of PA questionnaires and suggested to select only a few, most qualified ones for future studies. Existing reviews on measurement properties of PA self-reports [18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28] usually focused on the adult population or a specific population of older adults (e.g., older adults with dementia). However, although research on PA in older adults has grown continuously [2], no firm recommendations for the most-qualified self-administered PA questionnaires for older adults have been provided.…”

“…Specifically, the reliability of the Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly (PASE) was rated as sufficient but the results for validity were inconsistent. Recently, the review for youth was updated [19] and a new one for pregnancy was published [18]. The present review is an update for older adults and aims to summarize, compare and appraise the measurement properties (i.e., reliability, measurement error, hypotheses testing for construct validity, responsiveness) of all available self-administered PA questionnaires in older adults aged > 55 years.…”

Pregnancy physical activity questionnaire (PPAQ): Translation and cross cultural adaption of an Arabic version

“…Reports published worldwide focus on the knowledge and the practice of PA among pregnant women and explore maternal physical and psychological factors that enhance or hinder this behavior [7][8][9][10][11]. Hence, with the expansion of researches on the advantages of PA on health, various questionnaires have been developed such as the Godin Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire [12], the Simple Physical Activity Questionnaire [13], and the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire [14], but few were appropriate for pregnant women, mainly because they did not take into account daily routine activities frequently performed by them, such as childcare and household, were long and not validated during pregnancy [15]. Compared to the other tools, The Pregnancy Physical Activity Questionnaire (PPAQ) was the only selfadministered tool, with sufficient reliability in assessing total PA and vigorous activities during the last three months of gestation, preceding the survey [16].…”