Abstract
BackgroundA domain-specific physical activity questionnaire (EHIS-PAQ) was developed in the framework of the second wave of the European Health Interview Survey (EHIS). This article presents the EHIS-PAQ and describes its development and evaluation processes.MethodsResearch institutes from Belgium, Estonia and Germany participated in the Improvement of the EHIS (ImpEHIS) Grant project issued by Eurostat. The instrument development process comprised a non-systematic literature review and a systematic HIS/HES database search for physical activity survey questions. The developed EHIS-PAQ proposal was reviewed by survey experts. Cognitive testing of the EHIS-PAQ was conducted in Estonia and Germany. The EHIS-PAQ was further tested in a pilot survey in Belgium, Estonia and Germany in different modes of data collection, face-to-face paper and pencil interview (PAPI) and computer assisted telephone interview (CATI).ResultsThe EHIS-PAQ is a rather pragmatic tool aiming to evaluate how far the population is physically active in specific public health relevant settings. It assesses work-related, transport-related and leisure-time physical activity in a typical week. Cognitive testing revealed that the EHIS-PAQ worked as intended. The pilot testing showed the feasibility of using the EHIS-PAQ in an international health interview survey setting in Europe. It will be implemented in all 28 European Union Member States via European Union implementing regulation in the period between 2013 and 2015. This will be a first opportunity to get comparable data on domain-specific physical activity in all 28 EU MS and to publish indicators at the EU level.ConclusionsThe EHIS-PAQ is a short, domain-specific PA questionnaire based on PA questions which have been used in large-scale health interview surveys before. It was designed by considering the respondents’ perspective in answering PA questions.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13690-015-0110-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
A domain-specific physical activity questionnaire (EHIS-PAQ) was developed in the framework of the second wave of the European Health Interview Survey (EHIS)
The Physical activity (PA) module used in the first EHIS wave did not work as intended in many European Union Member States (EU MS) and needed revision
The revised instrument (EHIS-PAQ) is based on PA questions which have been used in large-scale health interview surveys before
Summary
A domain-specific physical activity questionnaire (EHIS-PAQ) was developed in the framework of the second wave of the European Health Interview Survey (EHIS). This article presents the EHIS-PAQ and describes its development and evaluation processes. The European Health Interview Survey (EHIS) is an integral part of the European Commission activities to establish a common framework for the systematic collection and production of European public health statistics. In the first EHIS wave carried out in European Union Member States (EU MS) between 2006 and 2010, PA was measured with a modified version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire – Short Form (IPAQ-SF) [4]. The evaluation of the first EHIS wave revealed difficulties in several EU MS with the implementation of the PA instrument used in the survey questionnaire.
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