Development of a questionnaire to measure communities' capacities in participatory physical activity promotion projects: a think-aloud study

Background. Communities are of crucial importance for health promotion and the prevention of diseases. Local capacities are especially important for the successful implementation of health promotion projects and for reaching the target population. When considering the scale-up of projects with a focus on physical activity promotion (BIG and GESTALT) in the community setting, it is of great importance to develop a tool that can measure those capacities.Objectives. A questionnaire for the pragmatic measurement of capacities through local authorities was developed, tested, and revised within a think-aloud study.Methods. Based on empirical evidence, we developed a capacity questionnaire which was completed by six project coordinators during a think-aloud study. Data was analyzed using qualitative content analysis and the response-process-theory. Following the analysis, the questionnaire was adapted.Results. Participants mentioned a total of 81 errors in four categories, which had been adjusted: 1) comprehension, 2) retrieval, 3) judgement, 4) response. The final questionnaire comprises 63 questions in six areas: participation, local leadership, available resources, networking and cooperation, health care, and BIG-specific questions.Conclusion. The questionnaire provides physical activity promotion projects with the opportunity to pragmatically measure capacities in the community setting.