Pregnant Women Sought for UMass Amherst Study on a Pregnancy Physical Activity Questionnaire

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AMHERST, Mass. – University of Massachusetts Amherst researchers in the School of Public Health and Health Sciences are seeking healthy women, less than 12 weeks pregnant and between the ages of 18 and 40, to participate in a study that will measure the accuracy of a widely used pregnancy physical activity questionnaire.

During each trimester, the women will be asked to visit the UMass Amherst Center for Personalized Health Monitoring for two separate sessions. Each session will last one to two hours. Study participants will complete the widely used pregnancy physical activity questionnaire at both sessions, held a week apart.

Between the sessions, the women will be asked to wear an activity monitor and a small, wearable camera for seven days, while going about their normal daily activities. Study participants will receive a $50 Target gift card during each trimester, for a maximum of $150 during their pregnancy, as an appreciation for their contribution and time.

Professor Lisa Chasan-Taber, chair of biostatistics and epidemiology, received a two-year, $431,000 grant from the NIH’s National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to update, validate and refine the questionnaire that her research group originally developed in 2004. It has been called the gold standard in its field.

In her new research, Chasan-Taber will incorporate advances in validation methods that have been made since the questionnaire was last updated.

Pregnant women interested in participating may email preg.paq@gmail.com.