Developing a Telephone Assessment of Physical Activity (TAPA) questionnaire for older adults

We report on development and preliminary validation of a brief, telephone-based measurement tool for assessing physical activity in older adults. The Telephone Assessment of Physical Activity (TAPA) questionnaire is based on the University of Washington Health Promotion Research Center's Rapid Assessment of Physical Activity (RAPA), a written questionnaire. The Rapid Assessment of Physical Activity questionnaire was modified to permit interviewers to administer it as a telephone interview. We retained its scoring levels and interpretation. The pilot test of the telephone version assessed the questionnaire's ease of administration and construct validity in a community-based sample of older adults. Spearman rho and kappa statistics were computed for comparison with the Rapid Assessment of Physical Activity questionnaire and the Community Healthy Activities Model Program for Seniors questionnaire. Thirty-four older adults completed the telephone assessment. A Spearman rho of 0.74 and a kappa statistic of 0.48 were found between TAPA and the written RAPA. The pilot test demonstrated that the TAPA questionnaire is a promising instrument for use as a brief, telephone-based questionnaire for assessing physical activity in older adults.