The Inventory of Physical Activity Barriers for Adults 50 Years and Older: Refinement and Validation

Background and Objectives Due to health consequences associated with insufficient physical activity (PA), particularly among aging adults, health care providers should assess and address lack of PA participation. Addressing lack of PA means developing individualized PA prescriptions that incorporate solutions to PA participation barriers. Assessing PA participation barriers can be done through the Social Ecological Model-based Inventory of Physical Activity Barriers Scale (IPAB). This study aimed to refine the initial 40-item IPAB and determine its reliability and validity. Research Design and Methods Five hundred and three community-dwelling adults 50 years and older completed a demographic and health questionnaire, the Physical Activity Vital Sign, the IPAB, and a feedback questionnaire. For scale refinement, half of the data were used for exploratory factor analysis and the other half for confirmatory factor analysis. The refined scale underwent reliability and validity assessment, including internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and construct validity. Results The refined scale contains 27 items consisting of 7 factors and 1 stand-alone item: (a) environmental, (b) physical health, (c) PA-related motivation, (d) emotional health, (e) time, (f) skills, (g) social, and (h) energy (a stand-alone item). The 27-item IPAB has good internal consistency (alpha = 0.91) and high test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.99). The IPAB's mean scores were statistically different between those who met the recommended levels of PA and those who did not (p < .001). Discussion and Implications The information gathered through the IPAB can guide discussions related to PA participation barriers and develop individualized PA prescriptions that incorporate solutions to the identified barriers.