title: Adding maps (GPS) to accelerometry data to improve study participants' recall of physical activity: a methodological advance in physical activity research.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Obtaining the 'when, where and why' of healthy bouts of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) provides insights into natural PA.
  
  
  METHODS
  In Salt Lake City, Utah, adults wore accelerometer and Global Positioning System (GPS) loggers for a week in a cross-sectional study to establish baseline travel and activity patterns near a planned Complete Street intervention involving a new rail line, new sidewalks and a bike path.
  
  
  RESULTS
  At the end of the week, research assistants met with the 918 participants who had at least three 10 h days of good accelerometer readings. Accelerometer and GPS data were uploaded and integrated within a custom application, and participants were provided with maps and time information for past MVPA bouts of ≥3 min to help them recall bout details. Participants said that 'getting someplace' was, on average, a more important motivation for their bouts than leisure or exercise. A series of recall tests showed that participants recalled most bouts they were asked about, regardless of the duration of the bout, suggesting that participant perceptions of their shorter lifestyle bouts can be studied with this methodology. Visual prompting with a map depicting where each bout took place yielded more accurate recall than prompting with time cues alone.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These techniques provide a novel way to understand participant memories of the context and subjective assessments associated with healthy bouts of PA. Prompts with time-stamped maps that illustrate places of MVPA offer an effective method to improve understanding of activity and its supportive sociophysical contexts.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family & Consumer Studies, Cancer Control & Population Sciences, Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.
authors.forename: Barbara B
authors.initials: BB
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.affiliation: GeoStats Services, a Division of Westat, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.affiliation: Department of Geography, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA.
authors.forename: Calvin P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Tribby
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.
authors.forename: Carol M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Werner
authors.affiliation: GeoStats Services, a Division of Westat, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
authors.forename: Jean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wolf
authors.affiliation: Department of Geography, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA.
authors.forename: Harvey J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.affiliation: Department of Family & Consumer Studies, Cancer Control & Population Sciences, Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.
authors.forename: Ken R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Smith
mesh_terms: D061725:Accelerometry / Q000379:methods*; D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D040362:Geographic Information Systems; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall / Q000502:physiology*; D018670:Monitoring, Ambulatory / Q000379:methods; D009042:Motivation
keywords: Physical activity and exercise methodology; Physical activity measurement; Walking