Development and Validation of a Questionnaire to Assess Barriers to Physical Activity After Stroke: The Barriers to Physical Activity After Stroke Scale.

OBJECTIVE

To develop and validate a self-reported questionnaire assessing the barriers to physical activity (PA) among stroke survivors.

DESIGN

Psychometric study.

SETTING

Ambulatory stroke care.

PARTICIPANTS

A total of one hundred and forty-six (N=146) individuals were included in this study. In stage 1, community-living stroke survivors (n=37; 13 women) with low-moderate disability (modified Rankin Score 0-3, stroke >3mo) were included. In stage 2, participants (n=109; 40 women) with same characteristics were included. Nine professionals experienced in PA for poststroke patients formed an expert panel.

INTERVENTIONS

In stage 1, semistructured interviews identified perceived barriers to PA, which were then selected by the expert panel and grouped on a Barriers to Physical Activity After Stroke (BAPAS) scale. In stage 2, stroke participants completed a personal information questionnaire and the BAPAS scale.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

An item selection process with factor analysis was carried out. The suitability of the data set was analyzed using the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin coefficient, internal consistency was evaluated by Cronbach α, and concurrent validity was assessed with Spearman correlation coefficients between the BAPAS scale and the modified Rankin Scale. Test-retest repeatability was estimated using 2-way random effects intraclass correlation coefficient model 2,1 at 4-6 day follow-up (n=21).

RESULTS

Factor analysis supported a 14-item BAPAS that explained 62% of total variance (Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin=0.82) and total score calculated higher than 70 (higher scores for higher barriers). Cronbach α was 0.86, Spearman correlation with the modified Rankin Scale was r=0.65 (P<.001), and test-retest intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.91 (95% CI, 0.79-0.97). The BAPAS scores were higher in patients with greater disabilities and in those with a longer time since the stroke event (P<.01).

CONCLUSION

We developed and validated the BAPAS scale to assess barriers to PA in stroke survivors with low-moderate disability with promising psychometric properties.