No abstract

The Ruffier test is used to evaluate the resistance of a heart to physical effort and is intended for adults. The aim of the research in this paper was to create a model of the Ruffier test adapted to school sport and physical education, i.e., for 6–16-year-old pupils. It was shown that two well-known models of correction of the Ruffier test to the age of young patients were in conflict and thus not reliable in the practice of physical education. Mathematical modeling and computer simulation were used in this research. Inter- and extrapolations of the assessment scales based on the Ruffier index were employed. Calculations were done using MS Excel® and MathCAD®. Two methods of the adaptation of the Ruffier test assessment for the health status of young patients were proposed. In one of the methods, the value of the Ruffier index was corrected, and in another, the scale of assessment was likewise. A normal value of the heart rate at rest was accepted as a parameter of correction in both models. In general, the proposed model of correction of the test assessment courses a statistically significant difference with a corresponding result determined according to the original model (p < 0.001). The results of this correction showed a considerable increase in a basic group of physical education (normal physical activity) and a decrease in a preparation course group (decreased physical activity) and a special group (poor physical activity). This age correction increased the test score validity for children and adolescents to a level of the originally test score validity for adults.

A mean-score reliability of a test in a form of repeated trials with the same measurement equipment is estimated using an intraclass correlation coefficient varied within -∞ and 1. The research aims to outline a method of estimation of the retest mean-score reliability coefficient adequate to its theoretical model, i.e., without negative values. The idea is: (1) to include all the scores obtained in the test–retest of the group of subjects to a united sample, and (2) to estimate corresponding true scores as individual means scores and include them to another sample. A proposed reliability score coefficient is derived as a ratio of a sum of squares of the individual means scores multiplied by a number of repeated trials to a total sum of squares. The method proposed in the work brings values of the mean-score reliability coefficient into the interval defined in the classic theory of test reliability: 0 to 1. The approach is illustrated with numerical examples.

The aim of the work is the experimental testing of the Ruffier test index corrected regarding to the age of patients. Four groups of patients 6, 7, 8, and 18–20 years old with 30 subjects in each of them are tested. The procedure of the study is built on the basis of the methods of theory and procedure of physical training, mathematical simulation, pulse meter, and theory of the motor tests. Mathematical statistics and corresponding methods of computer technologies are used. A statistically significant difference between resting heart rate in the groups of adults and children of 6, 7, and 8 years old is shown (p < 0.001). According to the results of one-way analysis of variance of the two-dimensional array of data, a statistically significant difference between the values of the Ruffier index (in its classical form) is revealed in the age classes that were inspected. During the correction of the value of the Ruffier index to the age of patient, the mean value of the index on the age classes statistically proved to be equal to the mean value of the index in the group of adult patients (p = 0.834). There are no significant differences between the dynamic reaction of a heart on the physical effort regarding to the age of participants (p = 0.526).

Purpose. the paper is dedicated to the problem of testing physical capacity in primary school with the use of the ruffier-Dickson test. the research aimed to verify the Dickson index corrected for the children's age with the intention of usage in primary school physical education. Methods. Four groups of healthy males-aged 6, 7, 8, and 18 years-were randomly selected, 30 participants in each. One way ANOVA, t-test for independent samples, and intra-correlation coefficient were used to evaluate the validity of the Dickson index for the original and age-corrected functions. It was assumed that Dickson index values should not depend upon age among healthy participants in normal physical capacity. Results. Invalidity of the original Dickson index for 6-8-year-old children was shown, with a significant difference of their results from those of the adults (p < 0.001). the use of the index formula corrected for the age of children gives no significant difference between all the groups (p = 0.817) and a good level of validity, taking into consideration the corresponding intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.688. this conclusion is supported with t-test results (p = 0.915), which show a rather good level of the test validity. Conclusions. to guarantee the validity of the Dickson index, the results of heart rate measurements should be reduced proportionally to the ratio of a normal heart rate of the young patients' population to the normal heart rate in adults.