Validity and stability of the international physical activity questionnaire short-form for stroke survivors with preserved walking ability.

Background: Stroke survivors usually present sedentary lifestyles and fail to comply with the World Health Organization physical activity recommendations. Reliable, low-cost, and fast tools are needed to monitor physical activity levels in this population.

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the content and face validity, construct validity, and test-retest stability of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire Short-Form (IPAQ-SF) in stroke survivors.

Methods: One hundred and twenty stroke survivors able to walk independently and preserved comprehension and communication abilities (61 ± 12 years, 35% female) were involved in this psychometric study. Participants completed the interview form of the IPAQ-SF via standardized videoconference twice, one week apart, under identical conditions, to evaluate test-retest stability. Correlations between IPAQ-SF and the caloric expenditure during the minutes of activity registered with the Fitbit Inspire 2 activity tracker wristband and 6-Metre Timed Walk (6MTW) were explored to assess construct validity.

Results: The IPAQ-SF showed good content and face validity. "Moderate" to "strong" correlations were found with the Fitbit Inspire 2 (rho: 0.40 to 0.63), while "weak" to "moderate" correlations were found with the 6MTW (rho: 0.35 to 0.50). Test-retest stability was "moderate" to "excellent" (κ: 0.844 to 0.881; ICC: 0.533 to 0.917).

Conclusions: The IPAQ-SF demonstrated satisfactory content and construct validity, and stability in stroke survivors, supporting its clinical and research utility when the data collection is conducted by trained evaluators using a standardized interview protocol in large samples.