The Development and Testing of an Electronic Tool to Measure Physical Activity in Domestic Settings

June 30, 2011 updated by: Boston Medical Center

Context Sensitive Measurement of Physical Activity

The purpose of this study is to develop a tool that can more accurately assess the intensity and kind of physical activity that a person performs. The experimental tool, which will use a mobile computing device as a way of automatically identifying when a certain activity is being performed and at what intensity, will be tested against a self reported paper diary of activities performed on a day to day basis. It is hoped that this study will increase understanding of the health benefits of certain types of physical activity performed in the home.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Detailed Description

Engaging in regular physical activity that requires a moderate to vigorous effort is related to good health and a reduced risk of a multitude of diseases. Currently physical activity and health promotion research is limited by self- report data that is confounded by participants' ability to accurately remember and record their physical activity. A potentially new method of accurately assessing moderate-intensity physical activity is called context sensitive- ecological momentary assessment (CS-EMA). Mobile computing devices (personal computing devices, PDAs) that automatically identify when a specific type of physical activity (e.g., moderate-intensity physical activity) is being performed has the potential to provide valuable objective data for naturalistic, experimental, and clinical intervention research purposes, and has the potential for educational, recreational, and clinical applications. The goal of this exploratory study is to assess the accuracy of two methods of collecting data on moderate-intensity physical activity. The study will compare the use of a paper diary to collect self-reported data on moderate-intensity physical activities performed throughout the day to self-reported data collected using ecological momentary assessment methods which are facilitated by a PDA that cues the participant to record when specific intensity levels of physical activity are achieved. This study will also develop algorithms that will automatically identify specific types of physical activities being performed. The data collected from the heart rate monitor, motion sensor, and information requested directly from the participant via the PDA interface will be used to train pattern recognition systems to classify the intensity and type of physical activity being performed by the participant. This study will contribute to research on context- awareness and human activity recognition.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

40

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Massachusetts
      • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02215
        • Boston Medical Center

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Healthy adults 18 years or older.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

To be eligible, a person will need to be:

  • A full-time employee in one of the two BMC hospital departments, or a house cleaner who is not employed by BMC
  • At least 18 years of age
  • Performing regular duties at the time of their participation (not on reduced duties due to illness, injury, disability, etc.)
  • Have a resting HR>50 and <120 bpm
  • Not be taking medication that can alter HR at rest or exercise (e.g. beta-blockers)
  • Able to understand spoken and written English
  • Not excluded from participation by their manager for disciplinary or other reasons.

Exclusion Criteria:

To be excluded, a person will be any of the following:

  • Part-time employee of the two BMC hospital departments,or a house cleaner who is not employed by BMC
  • Less than 18 years of age
  • Unable to perform full regular duties due to illness, injury, disability, etc.
  • Have >120 bpm and resting HR<50
  • Taking medication that can alter HR at rest or exercise (e.g. beta-blockers)
  • Unable to understand spoken and written English
  • Excluded from participation by their manager for disciplinary or other reasons.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Boston Medical Center

Collaborators

Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Stanford University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

May 1, 2005

Study Completion (Actual)

January 1, 2007

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 12, 2005

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 12, 2005

First Posted (Estimate)

September 21, 2005

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

July 1, 2011

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 30, 2011

Last Verified

June 1, 2011

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

  • R21 CA106745-021
  • National Cancer Institute (P50CA058187)

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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