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Physical Activity Measurement in Children Who Use Mobility Assistive Devices: Accelerometry and Global Positioning
Cheryl I Kerfeld1, Philip M Hurvitz, Kristie F Bjornson
1Special Education Department (Dr Kerfeld), Seattle Public Schools, Seattle, Washington; Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology (Dr Hurvitz), Urban Form Lab (Dr Hurvitz) and Department of Pediatrics (Dr Bjornson), University of Washington, Seattle, Washington; Seattle Children's Research Institute (Dr Bjornson), Seattle, Washington.
Insights
Combining wearable sensors and mapping technology effectively describes physical activity (PA) in children with cerebral palsy (CP) using assistive devices (AD). This approach captures PA levels and time spent in various locations, offering valuable insights into their daily routines.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Rehabilitation
- Biomedical Engineering
- Geospatial Health
Background:
- Children with cerebral palsy (CP) often use assistive devices (AD), impacting their mobility and physical activity (PA).
- Understanding the context (location) and quantity of PA is crucial for tailored interventions.
- Current methods may not fully capture the nuances of daily PA in this population.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the utility of integrating accelerometry, global positioning systems (GPS), and geographic information systems (GIS).
- To describe time allocation across different locations and quantify physical activity (PA) by location.
- To study 4 children with CP who utilize assistive devices (AD).
Main Methods:
- A descriptive multiple-case study design was employed.
- Data were collected using accelerometry for PA measurement and GPS for location tracking.
- GIS was utilized to analyze and visualize the spatial and temporal PA data.
Main Results:
- The combined approach successfully differentiated time spent in various locations and quantified PA.
- Significant variations in PA levels and location of activity were observed across different functional levels (e.g., Gross Motor Function Classification System - GMFCS).
- Children with lower GMFCS levels showed less PA and more time at home, while those with higher levels engaged in more PA in community settings.
Conclusions:
- Integrated accelerometry, GPS, and GIS show promise for capturing PA and time spent in daily environments for children with CP using AD.
- This technology can provide detailed insights into PA patterns relative to specific locations.
- The findings support the use of these combined technologies for research and clinical assessment in pediatric populations with mobility impairments.
Purpose:
To explore the usefulness of combining accelerometry, global positioning systems, and geographic information systems, to describe the time spent in different locations and physical activity (PA) duration/count levels by location for 4 children with cerebral palsy (CP) who use assistive devices (AD).
Methods:
A descriptive multiple-case study.
Results:
Combining the 3 instruments was useful in describing and differentiating duration by location, and amount and location of PA across differing functional levels and AD. For example, the child classified with a Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) level II exhibited large amounts of PA in community settings. In contrast, the child classified with a GMFCS level V had small amounts of PA and spent most measured time at home.
Conclusions:
Combined accelerometry, global positioning system, and geographic information system have potential to capture time spent and amount/intensity of PA relative to locations within daily environments for children with CP who use AD.
