engleski

Using a physical activity monitor and smartphone app to determine time-use and location information for exposure studies

The proliferation of smartphone applications (apps) and fitness monitors provides new and less expensive methods for tracking participant time-location-activity patterns in exposure studies. As part of the Health and Environment-wide Associations based on Large population Surveys (HEALS) project, this study examines the feasibility of using the Moves app and a commercially available fitness monitor – the Fitbit Flex for tracking people’s location and activities. Four participants per city (7 cities –Athens, Edinburgh, Kozani, Stuttgart, Thessaloniki, Utrecht, Zagreb) wore these devices along with a GPS device and Actigraph activity sensor, for comparison, for a week. A temperature logger was also worn to detect changes between indoor and outdoor conditions. A time-activity log was filled out on paper by participants for each day. Preliminary results indicate that classification of indoor and outdoor location was done with over 80% accuracy using either the GPS or Moves plus various external variables. Daily step counts by the Fitbit corresponded well with the Actigraph but minute-by-minute counts were less well correlated. This investigation will provide information on the utility of several commercial devices as modular add-ons to exposure studies.

smartphone applications; exposure; physical activity

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