title: Accuracy of voice-announcement pedometers for youth with visual impairment.
abstract: Thirty-five youth with visual impairments (13.5 +/- 2.1 yrs, 13 girls and 22 boys) walked four 100-meter distances while wearing two units (right and left placement) of three brands of voice-announcement (VA) pedometers (Centrios Talking Pedometer, TALKiNG Pedometer, and Sportline Talking Calorie Pedometer 343) and a reference pedometer (NL2000). Registered pedometer steps for each trial were recorded, compared to actual steps assessed via digital video. Inter-unit agreement between right and left VA pedometer placement was low (ICC range .37 to .76). A systematic error was observed for the VA pedometers on the left placement (error range 5.6% to 12.2%), while right placement VA pedometers were at or below +/- 3% from actual steps (range 2.1% to 3.3%). The reference pedometer was unaffected by placement (ICC .98, error approximately 1.4%). Overall, VA pedometers demonstrated acceptable accuracy for the right placement, suggesting this position is necessary for youth with visual impairments.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA. beetsm@onid.orst.edu
authors.forename: Michael W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Beets
authors.forename: John T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Foley
authors.forename: Daniel W S
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Tindall
authors.forename: Lauren J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Lieberman
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001296:Audiovisual Aids; D002648:Child; D016552:Ergometry / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018670:Monitoring, Ambulatory / Q000295:instrumentation*; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*; D014785:Vision, Ocular / Q000502:physiology*; D014831:Voice; D016138:Walking