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Home > Professional Reference > General Practice Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPPAQ)

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General Practice Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPPAQ)

This PatientPlus article is written for healthcare professionals so the language may be more technical than the condition leaflets. You may find the abbreviations list helpful.

The General Practice Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPPAQ) was commissioned by the Department of Health and developed by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine as a validated short measure of physical activity. It was developed to assist primary care trusts (PCTs) to meet the National Service Framework recommendations that "primary care teams assess and record the modifiable risk factors for each of their patients, including physical activity".1

Questionnaire

The GPPAQ is a validated screening tool for use in primary care that can be used to assess adult (16-74 years) physical activity levels.
It generates a simple, 4-level Physical Activity Index (PAI) categorising patients as: Active, Moderately Active, Moderately Inactive, and Inactive.

All patients who receive a score less than "Active" should be offered a brief intervention supporting behaviour change to increase their physical activity. It can be used as part of the NHS Health Check programme to assess people's risk of heart disease, stroke, kidney disease and diabetes.

The appropriate PAI Read Codes should be used if entering PAI data into the clinical record.2

General Practice Physical Activity Questionnaire
Please tell us the type and amount of physical activity involved in your work.
I am not in employment (e.g. retired, retired for health reasons, unemployed, full-time carer etc.)
I spend most of my time at work sitting (such as in an office)
I spend most of my time at work standing or walking. However, my work does not require much intense physical effort (e.g. shop assistant, hairdresser, security guard, childminder, etc.)
My work involves definite physical effort including handling of heavy objects and use of tools (e.g. plumber, electrician,carpenter, cleaner, hospital nurse, gardener, postal delivery workers etc.)
My work involves vigorous physical activity including handling of very heavy objects (e.g. scaffolder, construction worker, refuse collector, etc.)
During the last week, how many hours did you spend on each of the following activities? Please answer whether you are in employment or not.
Physical exercise such as swimming, jogging, aerobics, football, tennis, gym workout, etc.
Cycling (including cycling to work) and during leisure time.
Walking (including walking to work), shopping, etc.
Housework or childcare.
Gardening or DIY.
How would you describe your usual walking pace?
 Physical Activity Index (PAI) 

The GPPAQ is ©Crown copyright. Reproduced under the terms of the Click-Use Licence No C2006000685.


Questions concerning Walking, Housework/Childcare and Gardening/DIY have been included to allow patients to record their physical activity in these categories; however, these questions have not been shown to yield data of a sufficient reliability to contribute to an understanding of overall physical activity levels. They are not used in the generation of the PAI. 1

Document references

  1. The General Practice Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPPAQ), Department of Health, 2006
  2. GPPAQ Publication Update (May 09), Eastern Region Public Health Observatory (NHS)

Internet and further reading

Acknowledgements

EMIS is grateful to Dr Huw Thomas for writing this article. The final copy has passed scrutiny by the independent Mentor GP reviewing team. ©EMIS 2011.
Document ID: 12442
Document Version: 7
Document Reference: bgp26214
Last Updated: 1 Oct 2009
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