Stages of the Global Adolescent and Child Physical Activity Questionnaire (GAC-PAQ) development and validation process and summary of progress to date
| Stage | Current status and expected completion | Progress to date |
| Systematic review of the psychometric properties of PA questionnaires | Complete | We used a similar search strategy as the previous review by Hidding et al.32 We screened the PubMed, SPORTDiscus and Embase databases and 7050 potentially relevant articles were identified after removing duplicates. Titles, abstracts and full texts were screened by two reviewers and, when needed, a third reviewer was consulted to resolve discrepancies. The review included 85 papers and the manuscript has been submitted for publication. An environmental scan performed before the review identified no international questionnaire that covered all PA domains and had satisfactory test–retest reliability and construct validity. |
| Development of the GAC-PAQ | Complete | The first draft of the questionnaire was developed in November 2022. There were two rounds of feedback from members of the Steering Committee and Lead Investigators (see online supplemental file 1 for the list). The questionnaire was revised accordingly prior to content validation. |
| Assessment of content validity | Complete | 137 experts from 29 countries were invited to complete an online survey to assess the content validity of the draft GAC-PAQ written questionnaire. The response rate was relatively low (46.0%) with 63 experts completing the survey. Of those who reported their country of origin, 52.5% are from HICs and 47.5% from LMICs. Based on the feedback, a new version of the GAC-PAQ was developed by the co-PIs (RL and MST) and project manager (MRHA). Then, additional feedback was requested from members of the Steering Committee and Lead Investigators and incorporated in the version used for Stage 4. The draft of this version of the GAC-PAQ in English is available in online supplemental file 3. |
| Cognitive interviews in 14 countries | Complete | Prior to the interviews, the questionnaire was translated into the languages of participating countries and back-translated to English for verification. The interview guide, consent and assent forms were also translated. The interviews were completed in February 2024. |
| Development of the app-based questionnaire in English | Underway. Expected completion by the end of June 2024. | The initial layout of the app was presented at the project team meeting in June 2023 and feedback was obtained from attendees. The app development team is addressing this feedback and creating an image bank for the app. |
| Production of the app-based questionnaire in multiple languages | Underway. Expected completion by the end of July 2024. | Images displayed in the app will be customised for participating countries to ensure cultural relevance. The text of the app and any questionnaire items modified following the cognitive interviews will be translated and back-translated to English for content verification. |
| Pilot study of the app | Not yet started. Expected completion by the end of October 2024. | Participating countries are identifying school authorities that will be involved in the pilot study and main study. The Coordinating Centre (University of Lethbridge, Canada) is developing standardised protocols for data collection to harmonise procedures and train study staff. |
| Main study | Not yet started. Expected completion by the end of November 2025. | The main study will begin in 2024 with data collection over 12 months to capture seasonal variations in weather and circannual behaviours. |
This table is current as of 2 April 2024.
HICs, high-income countries; LMICs, low- and middle-income countries; PA, physical activity; PIs, principal investigators.