Wording Inconsistencies Among the Aerobic Items within the Physical Activity and Exercise Vital Signs: A Scoping Review

In clinical settings, providers assess inadequate aerobic physical activity (PA), seen among 80% of Americans, via self-report aerobic PA assessments (i.e. Physical Activity Vital Sign/Exercise Vital Sign [PAVS/EVS]). Slight variations to the PAVS/EVS have occurred. We aim to 1) identify these variations; and 2) present available psychometric properties. We searched four databases for empirical studies that reported PAVS or EVS’ exact wording. Among the 56 included articles, we identified 25 different versions of PAVS or EVS. The version used most often was: 1) “On average, how many days per week do you engage in moderate to strenuous exercise (like a brisk walk)?” and 2) “On average, how many minutes do you engage in exercise at this level?” Nine articles included psychometric evaluations. The observed variation in wording and the limited number of psychometric evaluations in the literature currently hinder the ability to recommend a single version of PAVS or EVS.