Integrating activity spaces in health research: Comparing the VERITAS activity space questionnaire with 7-day GPS tracking and prompted recall. (June 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Kestens, Yan; Thierry, Benoit; Shareck, Martine; Steinmetz-Wood, Madeleine; Chaix, Basile
• Is Part Of: Spatial and spatio-temporal epidemiology. Volume 25(2018)
• Page Start: 1
• Page End: 9
• Publication Date: 2018-06
• Subjects: GPS -- VERITAS -- Activity locations -- Activity space -- Multiple exposures; Epidemiology -- Statistical methods -- Periodicals; Epidemiology -- Periodicals; 614.4072
• DOI: 10.1016/j.sste.2017.12.003
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1877-5845

Abstract

Highlights: This is the first study comparing GPS with VERITAS data. 7-day GPS tracking and VERITAS activity locations show a strong spatial overlap. For half of the sample, 85.5% of 7-day GPS tracking time fell within 500 m of self-reported VERITAS locations. GPS provides much larger convex hulls and deviation ellipses than VERITAS. Both methods provide rich activity space information for exposure assessment. Abstract: Background: Accounting for daily mobility allows assessment of multiple exposure to environments. This study compares spatial data obtained (i) from an interactive map-based questionnaire on regular activity locations (VERITAS) and (ii) from GPS tracking. Methods: 234 participants of the RECORD GPS Study completed the VERITAS questionnaire and wore a GPS tracker for 7 days. Analyses illustrate the spatial match between both datasets. Results: For half of the sample, 85.5% of GPS data fell within 500 m of a VERITAS location. The median minimum distance between a VERITAS location and a GPS coordinate ranged from 0.4 m for home to slightly over 100 m for a recreational destination. Conclusions: There is a spatial correspondence between destinations collected through VERITAS and 7-day GPS tracking. Both collection methods offer complementary ways to assess daily mobilities, useful to study environmental determinants of health and health inequities.