Investigating the validity of the activPAL accelerometer against the criterion measure of direct observation in people with Parkinson's Disease, in a simulated free-living environment.
Citation
(2016) Investigating the validity of the activPAL accelerometer
against the criterion measure of direct observation in people with
Parkinson's Disease, in a simulated free-living environment., no. 31.
Abstract
Purpose: To investigate the validity of the activPAL accelerometer against the
criterion measure of direct observation when exploring sedentary and physical
activity in people with Parkinson's Disease, in a simulated free-living
environment. Design: Cross-sectional, observational, validation study, in a
laboratory. Participants: 12 individuals with a diagnosis of Parkinson's
Disease, and a Hoehn and Yahr score of ≤3, independently mobile for
5minutes with or without an aid. Method: There were three modules, which
involved a range of activities: body positioning and transitions, functional
activities, and walking in different environments. Module one comprised lying,
sitting and standing; module two required the participant to undertake four
activities, chosen from a random selection of eight; and finally in module three
the participants were asked to undertake walking in a range of different
environments, (indoors/outdoors). Results: When exploring sedentary
behaviour (SB), the activPAL was shown to have a 5% error for module one
(underestimating SB by 30seconds); module two, a 3% error (underestimating
SB by approx. 13 seconds). For physical activity (PA), the activPAL was
shown to have less than a 1% error (overestimating PA by 1second); module
two, a 3% error (underestimating PA by 8seconds), and module three, less
than a 1% error (underestimating PA by 3seconds). Conclusion: The
activPAL appears to accurately classify postures and movements, however, it
is restricted when there are a number of changes in short timeframes. Further
exploration is needed to strengthen and develop these findings before
considering the activPAL valid for this population.