Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 8, 2026
Using a Real-Time Locating System to Measure Walking Activity Associated with Wandering Behaviors Among Institutionalized Older Adults
Published on: February 8, 2019
Predicting home and community walking activity in people with stroke
George D Fulk1, Chelsea Reynolds, Sumona Mondal
1Department of Physical Therapy, Clarkson University, Potsdam, NY 13699, USA. gfulk@clarkson.edu
Objective:
To determine the ability of the 6-minute walk test (6MWT) and other commonly used clinical outcome measures to predict home and community walking activity in high-functioning people with stroke.
Design:
Cross-sectional.
Setting:
Outpatient physical therapy clinic.
Participants:
Participants (N=32) with chronic stroke (n=19; >6mo poststroke) with self-selected gait speed (GS) faster than .40m/s and age-matched healthy participants (n=13).
Interventions:
Not applicable.
Independent Variables:
6MWT, self-selected GS, Berg Balance Scale (BBS), lower extremity motor section of the Fugl-Meyer Assessment, and Stroke Impact Scale. Dependent variable: average steps taken per day during a 7-day period, measured using an accelerometer.
Results:
6MWT, self-selected GS, and BBS were moderately related to home and community walking activity. The 6MWT was the only predictor of average steps taken per day; it explained 46% of the variance in steps per day.
Conclusions:
The 6MWT is a useful outcome measure in higher functioning people with stroke to guide intervention and assess community walking activity.
