Accuracy and reliability of accelerometer-based pedometers in step counts during walking, running, and climbing stairs in different wearing positions

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the accuracy and reliability of accelerometer-based pedometers placed on the wrist, waist, and shoe's midsole during walking, running, and up & down stairs. Twenty healthy adults were recruited. Steps were recorded by the pedometers and visually assessed from simultaneously recorded video to evaluate the accuracy of each pedometer in different wearing positions. One week later, steps were recorded again by the pedometers only to evaluate the reliability of each pedometer in different wearing positions. The wrist-worn pedometer presented significantly greater error scores compared to the midsole-worn pedometer during walking (p < .001), running (p = .006), and up & down stairs (p = .003). Additionally, Bland-Altman plots indicated that the accuracy is the midsole-worn > waist-worn > wrist-worn pedometers during running and up & down stairs. Furthermore, the midsole-worn and waist-worn pedometers showed strong reliability during walking and running, but only the midsole-worn pedometer presented acceptable reliability during ascending and descending stairs. The pedometer’s position impacts the accuracy and reliability of step counts, especially for walking and up & down stairs. Embedding the pedometer into the midsole seems an effective approach to improve the accuracy and reliability of step counts.