Abstract
BackgroundResearch protocols regarding the use of ActiGraph wGT3X+ accelerometers in care home residents are yet to be established. The purpose of this study was to identify the minimal wear time criteria required to achieve reliable estimates of physical activity (PA) and sedentary behaviour (SB) in older care home residents.MethodsNinety-four older adults from 14 care homes wore an ActiGraph wGT3X+ accelerometer on the right hip for 7 consecutive days. A pragmatic, staged approach was adopted in order to explore the effect of: monitoring day; minimum daily wear time and number of wear days on estimates of four outcomes derived from the accelerometer data: counts.day− 1, counts.minute− 1, PA time and SB time.ResultsData from 91 participants (mean age: 84 ± 9 years, 34% male) was included in the analysis. No effect of monitoring day was observed. Lowering the daily wear time to ≥ 8 h (compared to ≥10 h) had no effect on the outcomes of interest. Four days of monitoring was sufficient to provide reliable estimates of all four outcomes.ConclusionIn this study, a minimum wear time criterion of ≥ 8 h on any 4 days was required to derive reliable estimates of PA and SB from ActiGraph wGT3X+ accelerometer data in older care home residents.
Highlights
Research protocols regarding the use of ActiGraph wGT3X+ accelerometers in care home residents are yet to be established
Participants This study is based on data collected from older care home residents recruited from ten care homes enrolled in the Research Exploring Physical Activity in Care Homes (REACH) programme between June 2013 and March 2015 and four care homes involved in the associated development work between September 2011 and January 2012
These results show that estimates of counts.minute− 1 and sedentary behaviour (SB) time were equivalent to estimates based on the reference minimum wear time criteria of ≥ 10 h irrespective of the minimum daily wear time employed
Summary
Research protocols regarding the use of ActiGraph wGT3X+ accelerometers in care home residents are yet to be established. As longevity in later life improves [2] this trend is likely to continue and in the United Kingdom (UK), the number of individuals aged over 85 years is expected to more than double between 2014 and 2034 to 3.2 million [3]. Whilst population ageing may be viewed positively; the fact that increases in life expectancy are typically mirrored by extended periods of morbidity and disability cannot be overlooked [4,5,6]. Many older adults will experience complex and interacting health needs and will require some form of support in their later years [1]. Recent estimates suggest there are over 400,000 older adults residing in care homes in the UK. Care homes provide personal care, and in some instances nursing care, for those people with illness, disability or dependence [8]
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