Comparability of Daily-Life Walking Speed Measured by Smartphone GPS and Ankle-Band Accelerometer: Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract BackgroundDaily-life walking speed (DWS), which is a critical health indicator in older adults, can be measured using smartphone GPS technology. Although this method is becoming more widely accessible,, ObjectiveIn this study, we aimed to investigate the a...

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Main Authors: Hisashi Kawai, Keigo Imamura, Rui Gong, Manami Ejiri, Shuichi Obuchi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: JMIR Publications 2025-08-01
Series:JMIR Formative Research
Online Access:https://formative.jmir.org/2025/1/e73722
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author Hisashi Kawai
Keigo Imamura
Rui Gong
Manami Ejiri
Shuichi Obuchi
author_facet Hisashi Kawai
Keigo Imamura
Rui Gong
Manami Ejiri
Shuichi Obuchi
author_sort Hisashi Kawai
collection DOAJ
description Abstract BackgroundDaily-life walking speed (DWS), which is a critical health indicator in older adults, can be measured using smartphone GPS technology. Although this method is becoming more widely accessible,, ObjectiveIn this study, we aimed to investigate the agreement and systematic error between DWS measured using the built-in GPS of a smartphone and an ankle-band accelerometer. MethodsParticipants were recruited from a previously selected cohort of community-dwelling older adults. Their DWS was assessed using both a smartphone app and ankle band accelerometer. Data from the two devices were matched based on simultaneous recordings, and agreement between the walking speeds was evaluated using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and a Bland–Altman plot. ResultsA total of 99 participants (38 men, 61 women; mean [SD] age 71.5 [4.9] y) were included, yielding 3652 paired data points. The mean (SD) DWS as measured by GPS was 1.30 (0.19) m/s, and this was significantly higher than the value of 1.12 (0.23) m/s measured by the accelerometer (P ConclusionsThe GPS app consistently recorded a faster walking speed than the ankle-band accelerometer. The agreement between the measurements of the two devices was poor. The data suggest that a correction is necessary when comparing the DWS between these two devices.
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institution Kabale University
issn 2561-326X
language English
publishDate 2025-08-01
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series JMIR Formative Research
spelling doaj-art-629b1015c2b6480c8abfb4253fc247ed2025-08-25T21:15:51ZengJMIR PublicationsJMIR Formative Research2561-326X2025-08-019e73722e7372210.2196/73722Comparability of Daily-Life Walking Speed Measured by Smartphone GPS and Ankle-Band Accelerometer: Cross-Sectional StudyHisashi Kawaihttp://orcid.org/0000-0003-3015-6041Keigo Imamurahttp://orcid.org/0000-0002-6440-670XRui Gonghttp://orcid.org/0000-0001-5112-5696Manami Ejirihttp://orcid.org/0000-0003-3544-4587Shuichi Obuchihttp://orcid.org/0000-0003-0187-9275 Abstract BackgroundDaily-life walking speed (DWS), which is a critical health indicator in older adults, can be measured using smartphone GPS technology. Although this method is becoming more widely accessible,, ObjectiveIn this study, we aimed to investigate the agreement and systematic error between DWS measured using the built-in GPS of a smartphone and an ankle-band accelerometer. MethodsParticipants were recruited from a previously selected cohort of community-dwelling older adults. Their DWS was assessed using both a smartphone app and ankle band accelerometer. Data from the two devices were matched based on simultaneous recordings, and agreement between the walking speeds was evaluated using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and a Bland–Altman plot. ResultsA total of 99 participants (38 men, 61 women; mean [SD] age 71.5 [4.9] y) were included, yielding 3652 paired data points. The mean (SD) DWS as measured by GPS was 1.30 (0.19) m/s, and this was significantly higher than the value of 1.12 (0.23) m/s measured by the accelerometer (P ConclusionsThe GPS app consistently recorded a faster walking speed than the ankle-band accelerometer. The agreement between the measurements of the two devices was poor. The data suggest that a correction is necessary when comparing the DWS between these two devices.https://formative.jmir.org/2025/1/e73722
spellingShingle Hisashi Kawai
Keigo Imamura
Rui Gong
Manami Ejiri
Shuichi Obuchi
Comparability of Daily-Life Walking Speed Measured by Smartphone GPS and Ankle-Band Accelerometer: Cross-Sectional Study
JMIR Formative Research
title Comparability of Daily-Life Walking Speed Measured by Smartphone GPS and Ankle-Band Accelerometer: Cross-Sectional Study
title_full Comparability of Daily-Life Walking Speed Measured by Smartphone GPS and Ankle-Band Accelerometer: Cross-Sectional Study
title_fullStr Comparability of Daily-Life Walking Speed Measured by Smartphone GPS and Ankle-Band Accelerometer: Cross-Sectional Study
title_full_unstemmed Comparability of Daily-Life Walking Speed Measured by Smartphone GPS and Ankle-Band Accelerometer: Cross-Sectional Study
title_short Comparability of Daily-Life Walking Speed Measured by Smartphone GPS and Ankle-Band Accelerometer: Cross-Sectional Study
title_sort comparability of daily life walking speed measured by smartphone gps and ankle band accelerometer cross sectional study
url https://formative.jmir.org/2025/1/e73722
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AT ruigong comparabilityofdailylifewalkingspeedmeasuredbysmartphonegpsandanklebandaccelerometercrosssectionalstudy
AT manamiejiri comparabilityofdailylifewalkingspeedmeasuredbysmartphonegpsandanklebandaccelerometercrosssectionalstudy
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