Accelerometer Compliance Rates And Sample Demographics

PURPOSE: To assess the impact of requesting more than one accelerometer wearing (“rewear”) on sample size and diversity in children, adolescents, adults and older adults. METHODS: Four studies (n=360 children, n=1052 adolescents, n=2444 adults, n=978 older adults) collected accelerometer data using in-person and mailing methods and implemented a rewear protocol where additional wearing days were requested from participants not meeting the minimum of 5 or 6 valid 10-hour days (with 1 weekend day for children and adolescents). Participants were coded as compliant with one accelerometer wearing, compliant with rewears, or non-compliant. RESULTS: Participants were 51% female and 33% non-White. Compliance rates are shown in Table 1. Compliance rates with one wearing ranged from 60.4% in adolescents to 78.3% in older adults. Compliance rates including rewears ranged from 77.5% in adolescents to 84.7% in children. Sample sizes were increased by 6.6% in older adults, 9.8% in adults, 23.1% in children and 28.3% in adolescents over first wear when rewearing protocols were implemented. Participants who remained non-compliant were more likely to be unmarried, non-White, obese and less educated compared to one time-compliant participants. Rewear-compliant participants had different characteristics than either group. CONCLUSION: Compliance rates varied by age group. Using accelerometer rewear protocols substantially increased compliance rates, particularly in children and adolescents with a weekend requirement. Rewears increased the diversity of the sample by making eligible more non-White (12.8% more in rewear-compliant group compared to one time-compliant group), less educated (8.9% more), single (9.7% more), and obese (40.3% more) participants. Employing rewear methodology is recommended to increase sample size and representativeness.Table: No title available.