Validity of the occupational sitting and physical activity questionnaire (OSPAQ) for home-based office workers during the COVID-19 global pandemic: A secondary analysis. (November 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Dillon, Kirsten; Hiemstra, Madison; Mitchell, Marc; Bartmann, Nina; Rollo, Scott; Gardiner, Paul A.; Prapavessis, Harry
• Is Part Of: Applied ergonomics. Volume 97(2021)
• Publication Date: 2021-11
• Subjects: OSPAQ -- activPAL™ -- Measurement-of-agreement; Human engineering -- Periodicals; 620.82
• DOI: 10.1016/j.apergo.2021.103551
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0003-6870

Abstract

Abstract: High levels of occupational sitting is an emerging health concern. As working from home has become a common practice as a result of COVID-19, it is imperative to validate an appropriate self-report measure to assess sitting in this setting. This secondary analysis study aimed to validate the occupational sitting and physical activity questionnaire (OSPAQ) against an activPAL4™ in full-time home-based 'office' workers (n = 148; mean age = 44.90). Participants completed a modified version of the OSPAQ and wore an activPAL4™ for a full work week. The findings suggest that the modified OSPAQ has fair levels of validity in terms of correlation for sitting and standing (ρ = 0.35–0.43, all p < 0.05) and agreement (bias = 2–12%) at the group level; however, estimates were poor at an individual level, as suggested by wide limits of agreement (±22–30%). Overall, the OSPAQ showed to be an easily administered and valid questionnaire to measure group level sitting and standing in this sample of adults.