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Author ORCID Identifier
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9218-7831
AccessType
Open Access Dissertation
Document Type
dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Degree Program
Public Health
Year Degree Awarded
2024
Month Degree Awarded
February
First Advisor
Lisa Chasan-Taber
Second Advisor
Penelope Pekow,
Third Advisor
John Sirard
Fourth Advisor
Nicole VanKim
Subject Categories
Maternal and Child Health
Abstract
Physical inactivity and sedentary behavior during pregnancy are significant public health concerns as it can increase the risk of excessive gestational weight gain, gestational diabetes mellitus, pre-eclampsia, and preterm birth. Consequently, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee Scientific Report have highlighted the importance of defining specific physical activity (PA) measures. The Physical Activity Questionnaire (PPAQ) continues to be the most widely used self-reported assessment tool during pregnancy as it was validated for use during pregnancy and includes measures of PA intensity, domain, and sedentary behavior. However, it has almost been two decades vii since the development of the original PPAQ. Since then, there have been significant changes to human behavior and advances in PA measurement tools. For each dissertation chapter, I used data from the PPAQ Validation Study (2019-2022, R21HD094565-01A1), a prospective cohort study of 50 eligible pregnant women enrolled in early pregnancy. Chapter 1 developed the updated PPAQ, and then determined its validity and reliability using an accelerometer and wearable camera in a free-living setting. The PPAQ is a reliable instrument and a valid measure of a broad range of PA during pregnancy. Chapter 2 determined the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on PA and sedentary behavior during pregnancy using the PPAQ and the accelerometer using a cross-sectional and prospective study design. During pregnancy, significant increases in sedentary behavior and household/caregiving and decreases in transportation PA were observed after the pandemic. Chapter 3 developed and evaluated the internal and external validity of the PPAQ-Short Form (PPAQ-SF). The internal validity of the PPAQ-SF was evaluated using the updated PPAQ and accelerometer within the PPAQ Study. The external validity of the PPAQ-SF was evaluated in an independent sample (Proyecto Mama, N=222) using the updated and original PPAQ. The PPAQ-SF produced sufficient estimates of moderate-to-vigorous-physical activity (MVPA) compared to the updated and original PPAQ. In conclusion, the Updated PPAQ can be used as a valid and reliable measure of pregnancy PA and the PPAQ-SF can be an efficient tool to estimate MVPA.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.7275/36478140
Recommended Citation
PARK, SUSAN, "Development and Validation of the Updated Pregnancy Physical Activity Questionnaire" (2024). Doctoral Dissertations. 3080.
https://doi.org/10.7275/36478140
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_2/3080
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.