Wireless Physical Activity Monitor Use Among Adults Living With HIV: A Scoping Review

Introduction: Physical activity (PA) can help promote healthy aging while addressing health-related challenges experienced with HIV infection. To determine the benefits of PA or consequences of inactivity, it is critical to ensure that we have accurate ways of measuring PA in the context of HIV infection. Wireless physical activity monitors (WPAMs) are increasingly used for measuring PA; however, evidence of their use in the context of HIV infection is unclear. Our aim was to characterize the literature (nature and extent and gaps in evidence) pertaining to WPAM use among adults living with HIV. Methods: We conducted a scoping review using the Arskey and O'Malley framework. We answered the following question: “What is the nature and extent of evidence pertaining to WPAMs and their use among adults living with HIV?” We searched databases including MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PubMed, Cochrane, and PsycINFO from 1980 to September 2016. Two authors independently reviewed titles and abstracts, followed by full texts for inclusion. Two authors independently piloted and then extracted data from included articles. We described characteristics of included studies using frequencies and medians and collated results from text data using content analytical techniques. Results: Our search strategy yielded 1315 citations, of which 25 articles were included. The majority of articles (76%) were published between 2011 and 2016. Among a total sample of 1212 adults living with HIV in the included studies, 56% were women. Across the 20 studies, 23 WPAMs were used including actigraphs (n = 10 WPAMs), accelerometers (n = 8), and pedometers (n = 5) to measure PA. WPAMs were used primarily as an outcome measure of PA. No included studies assessed measurement properties of WPAMs among adults living with HIV. Conclusion: WPAM use in the context of HIV infection primarily involved measuring PA. Areas to address in future research include examining the effectiveness of WPAMs for enhancing PA and assessing measurement properties of WPAMs to ensure they accurately assess PA among adults living with HIV.