Validation of the PAR-Q+ and ePARmed-X+

Abstract

The Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire for Everyone (PAR-Q+) and the electronic Physical Activity Readiness Medical Examination (ePARmed-X+) were created recently to reduce the barriers to physical activity participation for individuals with and without established chronic disease. Our primary purpose was to provide preliminary evidence on the effectiveness of these new forms for pre-participation screening and risk stratification. In particular, we sought to examine the new PAR-Q+ (and ePARmed-X+) risk stratification strategy in comparison to the previous PAR-Q. The new PAR-Q+ and ePARmed-X+ risk stratification and pre-participation strategy reduced significantly the number individuals that were sent for medical referral in comparison to the PAR-Q (i.e., 0.8% vs. 15%, respectively). The reliability of the PAR-Q+ over a three month period was high (r = 0.99). Moreover, the new strategy demonstrated high sensitivity (0.90 (95% CI = 0.77-0.96)) and specificity (1 (95% CI = 0.99-1)) for determining those with and without hypertension, respectively. In conclusion, our preliminary evaluation of the new PAR-Q+ and ePARmed-X+ risk stratification and pre-participation strategy in comparison to the PAR-Q reveals that the new process reduces greatly the barriers to physical activity participation, with a high reliability, sensitivity, and specificity of measurement.