Measurement properties of the Human Activity Profile questionnaire in hospitalized patients

Abstract

Objective: To test the measurement properties (reproducibility, internal consistency, ceiling and floor effects, and construct validity) of the Human Activity Profile (HAP) questionnaire in hospitalized patients.

Methods: This measurement properties study recruited one-hundred patients hospitalized for less than 48h for clinical or surgical reasons. The HAP was administered at baseline and after 48h in a test-retest design). The International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ-6) was also administered at baseline, aiming to assess the construct validity. We tested the following measurement properties: reproducibility (reliability assessed by type 2,1 intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC_2,1)); agreement by the standard error of measurement (SEM) and by the minimum detectable change with 90% confidence (MDC₉₀), internal consistency by Cronbach's alpha, construct validity using a chi-square test, and ceiling and floor effects by calculating the proportion of patients who achieved the minimum or maximum scores.

Results: Reliability was excellent with an ICC of 0.99 (95% CI=0.98-0.99). SEM was 1.44 points (1.5% of the total score), the MDD₉₀ was 3.34 points (3.5% of the total score) and the Cronbach's alpha was 0.93 (alpha if item deleted ranging from 0.94 to 0.94). An association was observed between patients classified by HAP and by IPAQ-6 (χ²=3.38; p=0.18). Ceiling or floor effects were not observed.

Conclusion: The HAP shows adequate measurement properties for the assessment of the physical activity/inactivity level in hospitalized patients.

Keywords: Inpatients; Movement; Physical activity; Physical therapy; Psychometrics; Rehabilitation.