Abstract
PURPOSE: Childhood obesity is a worldwide public health concern and interventions that increase physical activity are essential. A significant challenge in evaluating the effectiveness of these interventions is getting participants to continuously wear devices that quantify physical activity (i.e. good compliance). This is particularly challenging in low socio-economic status (SES) populations. The purpose of this study was to quantify compliance during a multi-day measurement period in low SES elementary school students. METHODS: Five to six days of free-living physical activity data were collected using a wrist-mounted Actical activity monitor in 277 elementary school students in low SES schools in Denver during April-May 2010. The Actical epoch length was set at 15 seconds. This was completed as part of the baseline assessment period for the Intervention of PhysicaL Activity in Youth (IPLAY) study. Compliance was quantified by the percentage of total time the monitor was worn. Because devices were mounted with semi-non-removable bands (e.g., hospital bands), non-wear was defined as greater than 60 consecutive minutes (240 epochs) of zero counts. RESULTS: We recorded 97% of the total possible minutes of wear time (1,843,277 minutes recorded). Of 277 participants, 255 (92%) demonstrated 100% compliance. Additionally, no monitors were lost or damaged during the study. CONCLUSIONS: We attributed the high compliance to a variety of factors, including 1) prior contact to inform principals/teachers about the study, 2) parental consent (97%) obtained via packets sent home by classroom teachers, 3) compensation provided to teachers, students and parents, 4) selection and placement of the Actical device on the wrist using a semi-non-removable band, and 5) school staff monitoring during data collection. The excellent compliance reported here suggests that public health researchers should consider adopting similar strategies to maximize objective physical activity data in children. Supported by NICHD/NCI/NIDDK R01HD057229
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