Validation of the Human Activity Profile

by Devaraj, Revathy

There are many problems in the measurement of physical activity, especially in the older population. Precise and valid measurement of physical activity is a challenging task and cm vary considerably both within and among individuds and populations. The primary purpose of this snidy was to validate a physical activity questionnaire. the Human Activity Profile (HAP), by self-report and proxy report in subjects with stroke and in normal elderly subjects. Data were collected from 24 subjects with stroke (mean age = 63.7 years) and 23 normal subjects (mean age = 65 .j years). To evaluate the validity, the HAP was administered to dl the subjects and they were asked to perform the activity they identified as the Maximum Activity Score. The level of activity was then either increased or decreased. to evaluate whether subjects underestimated or overestimated their physical ability. The HAP questionnaire was also administered to someone who knew the subject well in order to obtain a proxy response of the subject's physical activity. A second purpose of this snidy was to examine the influence of sociodemographicfactors (age, gendei living status, time since stroke, level of education) and patient factors (cognition, depression, Positive and Negative AtTect) on the discrepancy between self-report and observed performance and to determine the best predictor of self-reported physical activity. The results indicated that the Human Activity Profile is a valid measure to assess a subject's maximum physical activity by self-report and proxy report in subjects with stroke and in normal subjects. No association was found between sociodemographic factors or patient factors and the discrepancy beiween self-reported and observed performance in the stroke subjects, and depression was the only factor that influenced the discrepancy in normal subjects. A stepwise multiple regession used to determine the best predictos of self-reported physicai activity indicated th& a subject's walking speed is the best predictor in both the groups. Cognition was identified as a second predictor for the stroke subjects. The validity of the Human Activity Profile for the Adjusted Activity Score requires furthtr investigation.