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. 2016 Aug 19;16(1):836.
doi: 10.1186/s12889-016-3537-4.

Is self-reporting workplace activity worthwhile? Validity and reliability of occupational sitting and physical activity questionnaire in desk-based workers

Scott J Pedersen  1 , Cecilia M Kitic  2 , Marie-Louise Bird  2 , Casey P Mainsbridge  3 , P Dean Cooley  3
Affiliations

Is self-reporting workplace activity worthwhile? Validity and reliability of occupational sitting and physical activity questionnaire in desk-based workers

Scott J Pedersen et al. BMC Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: With the advent of workplace health and wellbeing programs designed to address prolonged occupational sitting, tools to measure behaviour change within this environment should derive from empirical evidence. In this study we measured aspects of validity and reliability for the Occupational Sitting and Physical Activity Questionnaire that asks employees to recount the percentage of work time they spend in the seated, standing, and walking postures during a typical workday.

Methods: Three separate cohort samples (N = 236) were drawn from a population of government desk-based employees across several departmental agencies. These volunteers were part of a larger state-wide intervention study. Workplace sitting and physical activity behaviour was measured both subjectively against the International Physical Activity Questionnaire, and objectively against ActivPal accelerometers before the intervention began. Criterion validity and concurrent validity for each of the three posture categories were assessed using Spearman's rank correlation coefficients, and a bias comparison with 95 % limits of agreement. Test-retest reliability of the survey was reported with intraclass correlation coefficients.

Results: Criterion validity for this survey was strong for sitting and standing estimates, but weak for walking. Participants significantly overestimated the amount of walking they did at work. Concurrent validity was moderate for sitting and standing, but low for walking. Test-retest reliability of this survey proved to be questionable for our sample.

Conclusions: Based on our findings we must caution occupational health and safety professionals about the use of employee self-report data to estimate workplace physical activity. While the survey produced accurate measurements for time spent sitting at work it was more difficult for employees to estimate their workplace physical activity.

Keywords: Exercise; Physical activity; Sitting behaviour; Workplace.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Bland-Altman plot of the difference in reported sitting time (%) between the OSPAQ and ActivPAL. Dashed lines represent the mean bias and 95 % LoA
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Bland-Altman plot of the difference in reported standing time (%) between the OSPAQ and ActivPAL. Dashed lines represent the mean bias and 95 % LoA
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Bland-Altman plot of the difference in reported walking time (%) between the OSPAQ and ActivPAL. Dashed lines represent the mean bias and 95 % LoA
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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