Development and psychometric evaluation of a health questionnaire on back care knowledge in daily life physical activities for adolescent students.

PURPOSE: The most relevant musculoskeletal problems are related with back health. Study instruments have been designed for adult patient population but not for school-aged children. The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate the psychometric properties of a questionnaire to assess adolescents' level of back care knowledge in daily life physical activities. METHODS: Participants were 171 adolescents from secondary schools. The questionnaire was made up of 24 questions. A Delphi method was used for test validation. Cronbach's alpha, test-retest, Wilcoxon signed-rank and Bland-Altman graph were used to evaluate the instrument reliability. RESULTS: Cronbach's alpha (α = 0.82) showed a strong internal consistency. Test-retest was excellent for total score (0.76) and moderate to excellent (0.54-0.76) for seven score conceptual categories with good results of standard error of the mean and minimal detectable change. No differences were found between test 1 and test 2 except for the standing posture scores. CONCLUSION: The questionnaire showed acceptable psychometric values. Results showed that this questionnaire is a good instrument to assess adolescent's back care knowledge.

Knowledge on health and back care education related to physical activity and exercise in adolescents.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between the specific level of knowledge on health and back care-related physical activity practice and exercise with low back pain (LBP) in adolescents. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study. The sample consisted of a total of 576 adolescents aged 13-18 years (mean age 15.5, SD 1.4). Self-reported questionnaires were used to record specific knowledge on health and back care and LBP in healthy adolescents. RESULTS: The prevalence of LBP was 46.3% [95% confidence interval (CI) 44.9-47.8]. Students with LBP scored slightly higher than non-sufferers, getting non-significant values. The level of specific knowledge increased with age (F = 7.308; p = 0.002). Stepwise logistic regression analysis showed that older girls group (>16 years old) was significantly associated with LBP odds ratio (OR) 2.9 (95% CI 1.77-4.74; p = 0.000). CONCLUSIONS: High school students have a low level of specific knowledge. Back care education in the school curriculum is recommended.