Quality of instruments measuring barriers to physical activity in different age groups: a systematic review of measurement properties and COSMIN analysis

The assessment of barriers to physical activity will be framed within the context of psychometric evaluation and cross-cultural adaptation processes of the available questionnaires. This systematic review will identify and analyze instruments developed to measure such barriers across different age groups, following PRISMA and COSMIN guidelines. Although numerous questionnaires have been used in children, adults, and older adults, the evidence regarding their reliability, validity, and cross-cultural equivalence remains limited and scattered across studies and settings. Reported issues include inconsistent factorial structures, insufficient evaluation of measurement error and criterion validity, and incomplete cultural adaptations. The present review aims to identify and evaluate the psychometric properties of questionnaires assessing barriers to physical activity across different age groups by applying COSMIN methodology.