Investigating the Accuracy of Wheelchair Push Counts Measured by Fitness Watches: A Systematic Review

Wheelchair users face an elevated risk of metabolic syndromes due to their sedentary lifestyles. One of the methods to prevent and treat various metabolic syndromes is regular physical activity, which varies among individuals based on their abilities. Monitoring physical activity among them can be performed by using wearable physical activity monitors (WPAMs), which utilize accelerometers and algorithms to track wheelchair push counts. However, the accuracy of push count detection varies among the devices due to technological limitations. The objective of this literature review was to evaluate the accuracy of WPAMs, specifically smartwatches, in measuring physical activity in the wheelchair population. This systematic literature review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The databases PubMed, Embase, and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) were searched in November 2022 for relevant articles. The initial search yielded 447 articles, seven of which were selected based on the inclusion criteria, which were as follows: participant ability to maneuver a wheelchair, arm- or wrist-worn WPAMs, and articles published after 2017. Among the devices studied, the Apple Watch was determined to be the most accurate calibration system for wheelchair users, with the lowest mean absolute percentage error (MAPE). Each succeeding generation of the Apple Watch (first to fourth) studied was more accurate than the previous. The review demonstrates that research on wheelchair fitness tracking remains scarce and further studies are required to address this issue.