MOBIlity assessment with modern TEChnology in older patients' real-life by the General Practitioner: the MOBITEC-GP study protocol

Mobility limitations in older adults are associated with poor clinical outcomes including higher mortality and disability rates. A decline in mobility (including physical function and life-space) is detectable and should be discovered as early as possible, as it can still be stabilized or even rever...

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Published in:	BMC public health Vol. 19; no. 1; p. 1703
Main Authors:	Münch, Mareike, Weibel, Robert, Sofios, Alexandros, Huang, Haosheng, Infanger, Denis, Portegijs, Erja, Giannouli, Eleftheria, Mundwiler, Jonas, Conrow, Lindsey, Rantanen, Taina, Schmidt-Trucksäss, Arno, Zeller, Andreas, Hinrichs, Timo
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	England BioMed Central Ltd 19-12-2019 BioMed Central BMC
Subjects:	Acceptance Accuracy Activities of daily living Aged Aging Analysis Batteries Cardiovascular disease Chronic diseases Chronic illnesses Comorbidity Disabilities Elderly Elderly patients Embedded systems Evaluation Family medical history Family medicine Female Gait General practice General Practitioners Geographic Information Systems Geriatric Assessment - methods Geriatrics Gerontology Global positioning systems GPS Health aspects Health care Humans Inertial platforms Male Medical practice Medical research Mobile Applications Mobility Mobility Limitation Monitoring, Ambulatory - methods Mortality Multimorbidity Novels Older people Patient Acceptance of Health Care - statistics & numerical data Patients Public health Quality of life Questionnaires Reliability analysis Reproducibility of Results Research Design Satellite navigation systems Satellites Sensors Smartphone Smartphones Standardization Study Protocol Technology Technology assessment Walking Walking speed Spatial behavior Inertial sensors Mobility limitation Health promotion Aging General practice Smartphone Walking speed Geographic information systems Multimorbidity
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Summary:	Mobility limitations in older adults are associated with poor clinical outcomes including higher mortality and disability rates. A decline in mobility (including physical function and life-space) is detectable and should be discovered as early as possible, as it can still be stabilized or even reversed in early stages by targeted interventions. General practitioners (GPs) would be in the ideal position to monitor the mobility of their older patients. However, easy-to-use and valid instruments for GPs to conduct mobility assessment in the real-life practice setting are missing. Modern technologies such as the global positioning system (GPS) and inertial measurement units (IMUs) - nowadays embedded in every smartphone - could facilitate monitoring of different aspects of mobility in the GP's practice. This project's aim is to provide GPs with a novel smartphone application that allows them to quantify their older patients' mobility. The project consists of three parts: development of the GPS- and IMU-based application, evaluation of its validity and reliability (Study 1), and evaluation of its applicability and acceptance (Study 2). In Study 1, participants (target N = 72, aged 65+, ≥2 chronic diseases) will perform a battery of walking tests (varying distances; varying levels of standardization). Besides videotaping and timing (gold standard), a high-end GPS device, a medium-accuracy GPS/IMU logger and three different smartphone models will be used to determine mobility parameters such as gait speed. Furthermore, participants will wear the medium-accuracy GPS/IMU logger and a smartphone for a week to determine their life-space mobility. Participants will be re-assessed after 1 week. In Study 2, participants (target N = 60, aged 65+, ≥2 chronic diseases) will be instructed on how to use the application by themselves. Participants will perform mobility assessments independently at their own homes. Aggregated test results will also be presented to GPs. Acceptance of the application will be assessed among patients and GPs. The application will then be finalized and publicly released. If successful, the MOBITEC-GP application will offer health care providers the opportunity to follow their patients' mobility over time and to recognize impending needs (e.g. for targeted exercise) within pre-clinical stages of decline.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	1471-2458 1471-2458
DOI:	10.1186/s12889-019-8069-2