Factors associated with Physical Activity Counseling by Health Workers Questionnaire: construction, validation and reliability

Abstract

The main purpose of this study is to describe the development, validation and reliability of a questionnaire to measure the associated factors of physical activity counseling by health workers. The development of the questionnaire was carried out in four steps: construction of the analytical matrix; face validation; pilot study; and reliability assessment. The analytical matrix consisted of ten modules with a total of 47 questions. In the second step, 21 Brazilian experts of different knowledge backgrounds gave their opinion on the presentation, clarity and adequacy of each item. In the third step, a pilot study was carried out with 20 professionals (doctors, nurses and community health agents) from the Joao Pessoa, Paraíba Family Health Strategy. In the last step, reliability index was assessed among a sample of 53 health workers from five health units. The final version of the questionnaire was composed of 53 questions distributed in ten modules. Results showed a total validity index of 0.90 ranging from 0.83 to 0.95 in the modules. The clarity and adequacy of  the scale showed mean values of 0.93 (ranging from 0.87 to 0.96) and 0.95 (ranging from 0.91 to 0.98), respectively. Eight out of ten modules showed all items with reliability greater than 0.60 (kappa). The questionnaire showed a satisfactory validity and reliability and it is recommended for studies to measure physical activity counseling and other practices in health promotion by health workers in the primary health care.