Perceptions of older people in Ireland and Australia about the use of technology to address falls prevention

2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 369-388
Author(s):  
Lynette Mackenzie ◽  
Amanda Clifford

AbstractFalls are common events with serious consequences for older people. With an ageing population and increasing health-care costs, information and communication technologies (ICT) will have a potential role in future health-care delivery. However, research on technology acceptance in health care for older people is limited and its application to falls prevention is unknown. The aims of this study were to explore and describe the perceptions of community-dwelling Australian and Irish older people about their current use of technology, and the potential use of technology for falls prevention. Qualitative data were collected from three focus groups conducted in and around Limerick in Ireland, and three in the Sydney area, Australia. A total of 35 older people participated. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Four themes emerged from the data: (a) perceptions of vulnerability to falls, (b) preferences for exercise interventions, (c) participation in and ownership of technology, and (d) perceptions about applications of technology for falls prevention. As the use of technology is an instrumental activity of daily living, health professionals need to assess the capacity of older people to adopt these technologies, and provide falls prevention interventions to accommodate the technology skills of older people. Some participants were reluctant to embrace technology and barriers to the effective use of technology to assist in preventing falls may conflict with future health service trends.

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marlene Sandlund ◽  
Petra Pohl ◽  
Christina Ahlgren ◽  
Dawn A. Skelton ◽  
Anita Melander-Wikman ◽  
...  

Background. Several factors have previously been identified to positively influence the uptake and adherence for fall prevention exercise programmes. There is, however, a lack of studies investigating if men and women differ in their views and preferences for fall prevention exercises. Aim. To explore exercise preferences and motivators of older community-dwelling women and men in the context of falls prevention from a gender perspective. Methods. Workshops including multistage focus group discussions were conducted with 18 older community-dwelling people with and without history of falls. Participants were purposively selected and divided into two groups. Each group met on six occasions over a period of five months. Participatory and Appreciative Action and Reflection methodology was used to guide the discussions. A qualitative content analysis approach was used in the analysis. Results. Older participants had many diverse preferences and confirmed that individually tailored exercise, in terms of mode, intensity, challenge, and social context, is important. Moreover, important factors for exercise adherence and maintenance included the experience of individual confirmation; different spirit lifters to increase enjoyment; and personal tricks to maintain exercise routines. The individual differences within genders were more diverse than the differences between women and men. Conclusion. Exercise interventions to prevent falls should be individually tailored, based on the specific needs and preferences of the older participant, and do not appear to require gender specific approaches. To increase adherence, intrinsic motivation for exercise may be encouraged by competence enhancing confirmations, energizing spirit lifters, and practical tips for exercise maintenance. The study provides an awareness about women’s and men’s preferences for fall prevention exercises, and this information could be used as guidance in designing inclusive exercise interventions.


Author(s):  
Agathe D. Jadczak ◽  
Naresh Makwana ◽  
Natalie Luscombe-Marsh ◽  
Renuka Visvanathan ◽  
Timothy J. Schultz

Author(s):  
J. van Hoof ◽  
E. J. M. Wouters ◽  
H. R. Marston ◽  
B. Vanrumste ◽  
R. A. Overdiep

Technology can assist older adults to remain living in the community. Within the realm of information and communication technologies, smart homes are drifting toward the concept of ambient assisted living (AAL). AAL-systems are more responsive to user needs and patterns of living, fostering physical activity for a healthier lifestyle, and capturing behaviours for prevention and future assistance. This study provides an overview of the design-requirements and expectations towards AAL-technologies that are formulated by the end-users, their relatives and health care workers, with a primary focus on health care in The Netherlands. The results concern the motivation for use of technology, requirements to the design, implementation, privacy and ethics. More research is required in terms of the actual needs of older users without dementia and their carers, and on AAL in general as some of the work included concerns less sophisticated smart home technology.


BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. e036194 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beatrice Pettersson ◽  
Lillemor Lundin-Olsson ◽  
Dawn A Skelton ◽  
Per Liv ◽  
Magnus Zingmark ◽  
...  

IntroductionExercise interventions have a strong evidence base for falls prevention. However, exercise can be challenging to implement and often has limited reach and poor adherence. Digital technology provides opportunities for both increased access to the intervention and support over time. Further knowledge needs to be gained regarding the effectiveness of completely self-managed digital exercise interventions. The main objective of this study is to compare the effectiveness of a self-managed digital exercise programme, Safe Step, in combination with monthly educational videos with educational videos alone, on falls over 1 year in older community-dwelling adults.Methods and analysisA two-arm parallel randomised controlled trial will be conducted with at least 1400 community-living older adults (70+ years) who experience impaired balance. Participants will be recruited throughout Sweden with enrolment through the project website. They will be randomly allocated to either the Safe Step exercise programme with additional monthly educational videos about healthy ageing and fall prevention, or the monthly education videos alone. Participants receiving the exercise intervention will be asked to exercise at home for at least 30 min, 3 times/week with support of the Safe Step application. The primary outcome will be rate of falls (fall per person year). Participants will keep a fall calendar and report falls at the end of each month through a digital questionnaire. Further assessments of secondary outcomes will be made through self-reported questionnaires and a self-test of 30 s chair stand test at baseline and 3, 6, 9 and 12 months after study start. Data will be analysed according to the intention-to-treat principle.Ethics and disseminationEthical approval was obtained by The Regional Ethical Review Board in Umeå (Dnr 2018/433-31). Findings will be disseminated through the project web-site, peer-reviewed journals, national and international conferences and through senior citizen organisations’ newsletters.Trial registration numberNCT03963570.


2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. J. R. van Duijnhoven ◽  
D. De Kam ◽  
W. Hellebrand ◽  
E. Smulders ◽  
A. C. H. Geurts ◽  
...  

Falls are a common complication after stroke, with balance and gait deficits being the most important risk factors. Taking into account the specific needs and capacities of people with stroke, we developed the FALLS program (FALL prevention after Stroke), based on the “Nijmegen falls prevention program” (a proven-effective 5-week exercise program designed for community-dwelling elderly people). The program was tested in twelve community-dwelling persons with stroke, and a process evaluation was conducted with patients, trainers, health care professionals, and managers. The FALLS program was considered suitable and feasible by people with stroke in the study and relevant health care professionals, and recommendations for implementation in clinical practice have been suggested.


2013 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaija Komulainen ◽  
Pekka Ylöstalo ◽  
Anna-Maija Syrjälä ◽  
Piia Ruoppi ◽  
Matti Knuuttila ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Maria Ehn ◽  
Ann-Christin Johansson ◽  
Åsa Revenäs

This paper investigates seniors’ and health care professionals’ (HCPs) perceptions on needed contributions and qualities of digital technology-based motivation support for seniors’ physical activity (PA). Seniors and HCPs expressed their views in focus groups, which were analyzed separately by inductive content analysis. Similarities and differences in seniors’ and HCPs’ views were identified through thematic analysis of qualitative results from both focus groups. This article’s main findings are that both seniors and HCPs believed digital technology should support and make PA more enjoyable in ways to strengthen seniors’ control and well-being. However, seniors emphasized support for social interaction, while HCPs also requested support for increasing seniors’ insight into PA and for facilitating their dialogue with seniors. Conclusions to be drawn are that seniors and HPCs shared overall views on digital technology’s main contributions but had different perspectives on how those contributions could be obtained. This highlights the importance of the early identification of user groups and exploration of their different needs when developing new solutions. Moreover, seniors’ and HCPs’ perceptions included aspects relevant for personal motivation, technology acceptance, and PA behavioral change according to self-determination theory, unified theory of acceptance and use of technology, and behavioral change techniques for increasing PA.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 875-875
Author(s):  
Elaine Moody ◽  
Rebecca Ganann ◽  
Marilyn Macdonald ◽  
Lori Weeks ◽  
Liz Orr ◽  
...  

Abstract Supporting older people to live in the community as they experience health and functional changes has become a priority for policy makers, health system leaders and community members, including many older people themselves. Aging-in-place has been promoted as a way to support the sustainability of health care systems and limit health care and societal costs. However, the expenses borne by individuals and caregivers to support older people to age-in-place when experiencing changes in health and functional ability are often not considered in health care literature and policy. We conducted a scoping review using Joanna Briggs Institute methodology to explore the out-of-pocket expenses for people with frailty living in the community. We included research and policy papers on community-dwelling people over 60 and experiencing frailty. Findings about financial out-of-pocket expenses were extracted. A total of 9669 sources were screened by two reviewers and 42 sources were included. The sources were from 17 countries, most from the US, and had various designs, including 14 qualitative designs, 15 cross sectional, 11 other quantitative and 2 policy discussions. The sources most often reported expenses related to home care (16), medication (12), housekeeping (10), transportation (8), and medical equipment (6). Gaps in the body of literature include lack of a consistent measure of out-of-pocket expenses and cost considerations of co-housing programs. The context—including policy, community and personal—was particularly important to the experience of out-of-pocket expenses for people with frailty, and further research is needed to expand on this knowledge.


Gerodontology ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 268-274 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pieternella C. Bots-VantSpijker ◽  
Josef J.M. Bruers ◽  
Casper P. Bots ◽  
Jacques N.O. Vanobbergen ◽  
Luc M.J. De Visschere ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda Mansson ◽  
Lillemor Lundin-Olsson ◽  
Dawn A Skelton ◽  
Rebecka Janols ◽  
Helena Lindgren ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Fall prevention exercise programmes are known to be effective, but access to these programmes is not always possible. The use of eHealth solutions might be a way forward to increase access and reach a wider population. In this feasibility study the aim was to explore the choice of programme, adherence, and self-reported experiences comparing two exercise programmes – a digital programme and a paper booklet.Methods: A participant preference trial of two self-managed fall prevention exercise interventions. Community-dwelling adults aged 70 years and older exercised independently for four months after one introduction meeting. Baseline information was collected at study start, including a short introduction of the exercise programme, a short physical assessment, and completion of questionnaires. During the four months intervention period, participants self-reported their performed exercises in an exercise diary. At a final meeting, questionnaires about their experiences, and post-assessments, were completed. For adherence analyses data from diaries were used and four subgroups for different levels of participation were compared. Exercise maintenance was followed up with a survey 12 months after study start.Results: Sixty-seven participants, with mean age 77±4 years were included, 72% were women. Forty-three percent chose the digital programme. Attrition rate was 17% in the digital programme group and 37% in the paper booklet group (p=.078). In both groups 50-59% reported exercise at least 75% of the intervention period. The only significant difference for adherence was in the subgroup that completed ≥75% of exercise duration, the digital programme users exercised more minutes per week (p=.001). Participants in both groups were content with their programme but digital programme users reported a significantly higher (p=.026) degree of being content, and feeling supported by the programme (p=.044). At 12 months follow-up 67% of participants using the digital programme continued to exercise regularly compared with 35% for the paper booklet (p=.036).Conclusions: Exercise interventions based on either a digital programme or a paper booklet can be used as a self-managed, independent fall prevention programme. There is a similar adherence in both programmes during a 4-month intervention, but the digital programme seems to facilitate long-term maintenance in regular exercise.Trial registration: ClinTrial: NCT02916849


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