Automated measurement of patient activity on a hospital rehabilitation ward

Change in patient activity is frequently an important clinical variable, yet these changes are difficult to monitor and document empirically. Patients on a rehabilitation ward in a Veterans Administration hospital during a three-month period participated in a direct measure of their daily motion by wearing digital pedometers. The resulting data suggest that changes in patient activity can be easily quantified without disrupting ward routine and that the data can serve to strengthen clinical estimates of change which can assist staff in their analysis and interpretation of patient progress.