Activity Levels Among Lower-Limb Amputees: Self-Report Versus Step Activity Monitor
By Stepien, Jacqueline M., BSc; Cavenett, Sally, BPO; Taylor, Leigh, MPH; Crotty, Maria, PhD; Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Vol. 88, No. 7, pp. 896-900Publication Date: July 2007
Study undertaken to determine the accuracy of self-reported activity by community-dwelling, lower-limb amputees. Seventy-seven unilateral lower-limb amputees at least 6 months after prosthetic rehabilitation were recruited for the study from a regional prosthetics outpatient service. Participants kept an activity diary, which consisted of a table for each day of the week, with rows corresponding to time in 15-minute increments and the columns corresponding to 4 defined levels of activity, from resting to high. The StepWatch3 Activity Monitor (SAM) was fitted to the participant’s prosthesis. Measured activity counts (in steps/min) and self-reported activity (rest, low, medium, high) in 15-minute intervals over 1 week were recorded for each participant. Strong agreement between self-reported and measured activity, except for the resting level, was found for only 34% of participants. The measured and self-reported proportion of time spent in various states of activity also showed poor agreement. Implications for prescribing prosthetics and providing patients with advice on promoting health are discussed.
Assistive Products Discussed: STEPWATCH
Published by: W.B. Saunders Company, a division of Elsevier Health Sciences (Website:http://us.elsevierhealth.com)
American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (Web Site: http://www.aapmr.org/ )
American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine (Web Site: http://www.acrm.org )
