| Name of the Instrument/Tool | Short Questionnaire to Assess Health-Enhancing Physical Activity (SQUASH) |
| First Description |
Wendel-Vos GC, Schuit AJ, Saris WH, Kromhout D. Reproducibility and relative validity of the Short Questionnaire To Assess Health-Enhancing Physical Activity. J Clin Epidemiol 2003;56:1163–9. |
| Year | 2003 |
| Domains | |
| Concept of constructs | Self reported habitual physical activity |
| Population/Disease | Generic |
| Originally developed for | --- |
| Other rheumatic diseases where can be applied (only if validated) |
Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), Osteoarthritis (OA), Spondyloarthritis |
| Additional population with no rheumatic diseases |
No |
| Language: Originally published in | Dutch |
| Available in Language | Turkish, English, Japanese |
| REFERENCE IDENTIFICATION | |
| Author/s | Wendel-Vos GC, Schuit AJ, Saris WH, Kromhout D |
| Title | Reproducibility and relative validity of the short questionnaire to assess health-enhancing physical activity |
| Journal | J Clin Epidemiol. |
| Year | 2003 |
| Vol | 56 |
| Num | 12 |
| Pages | 1163-9. |
| Country | The Netherlands |
| Language | Dutch |
| Other references of interest | |
| Link | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27575490/ |
| Brief Description |
Validation of the SQUASH Physical Activity Questionnaire in a multi-ethnic population: the HELIUS study |
| Link | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21840174/ |
| Brief Description |
The SQUASH was a more valid tool than the OBiN for categorizing adults according to the Dutch physical activity and the combined guideline |
| Link | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33091242/ |
| Brief Description |
Self-Report Measures of Physical Activity |
| Instrument/Tool Translations References | |
| No other References. | |
| DEVELOPER CONTACT INFORMATION | |
| Correspondence to | GC Wanda Wendel-Vos |
| wanda.Vos@rivm.nl | |
| Address | Department for Chronic Diseases Epidemiology, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, P.O. Box 1, 3720 BA, Bilthoven, The Netherlands |
| Website | --- |
| Available | --- |
| Links | --- |
| DESCRIPTION OF THE INSTRUMENT | |
| Type Of Measure | Questionnaire |
| Brief Description |
The SQUASH measures the habitual activities in a normal week over the past months. The SQUASH contains five subdomains: 1) commuting activities, 2) activity at work or school, 3) household activities, 4) leisure-time activities, and 5) sports. The domains of commuting, work or school, and household activities each have two items, the leisure-time domain has four items, and the sports domain can include up to four sports activities indicated by the respondent. |
| Number of Items | 14 items, each subdomain has a “not applicable” option as an item. |
| Range | --- |
| Responses options/scale |
Yes Individuals respond with the number of days per week and average time per day (hours and minutes) spent on each activity within each subdomain. |
| Developed for | --- |
| PRACTICAL APPLICATION | |
| Method of administration | Self-administered |
| Recommendations to score |
Scoring is completed by taking a sum of the time spent active in each domain in total minutes and multiplying by the intensity score. Activities are divided into three intensity categories based on Ainsworth's compendium of physical activities: 2.0 to less than 4.0 METs (light), 4.0 to less than 6.5 METs (moderate), and greater than or equal to 6.5 METs (vigorous). Some studies have used different intensity categories for older adults: 2.0 to less than 3.0 METs (light), 3.0 to less than 5.0 METs (moderate), greater than or equal to 5.0 METs (vigorous). Activities with an MET score below 2.0 are not counted. The SQUASH does not estimate energy expenditure but does estimate habitual activity in an average week for individuals. |
| Score Interpretation | Higher scores indicate higher physical activity |
| Cut-off points | --- |
| Cut-off points applied to | --- |
| Smallest detectable change if described | --- |
| Smallest detectable change applied to | --- |
| Completion time by the patient | <5 minutes |
| Scoring time by the assessor | <5 minutes |
| Training to score | Not necessary |
| Strengths | Useful in clinical practice & research, Easy to use |
| Limitations | --- |
| OTHER COMMENTS | |
| Other Comments |
The SQUASH has limited use among individuals with rheumatic and MSK conditions. There are low correlations with objective measures of PA and mixed results on reliability. There is no evidence on sensitivity to changes/responsiveness, and the measure has limited use in RCTs |