Smartphone Technology and falls rehabilitation: Version 1.
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Can smartphone technology be used to deliver effective one-to-one and group home exercise to prevent falls?
IRAS ID
205980
Contact name
Helen Hawley-Hague
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
The University of Manchester
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 6 months, 1 days
Research summary
Can smartphone technology assist in delivering effective one-to-one and group home exercise to prevent falls for older adults?
Falls lead to injury, loss of independence and death for older adults. Targeted home-exercise, including exercises to strengthen muscles and improve balance, is proven to prevent falls. However, older adults do not always maintain their exercises nor do them regularly enough to gain the benefits. Many healthcare services do not offer adequate support to enable older adults to carry out the exercises regularly enough, or for a long enough period of time. One-to-one and group exercise delivered by health professionals through teleconferencing using everyday technology (smartphone) in people’s homes could be a solution. The intervention would provide:
1. More regular exercise opportunities/additional health professional support.
2. Promotion of adherence through ‘virtual’ group support and motivational messages.Methods:
An EC funded project (FARSEEING) developed a smartphone system that assesses function and acts as a falls detector/alarm system. This National Institute of Health Research funded study will use this system with the development of additional applications and the use of teleconferencing. The smartphone will be worn by the user and will be used to detect falls, as an alert system, to assess function, record home exercise and to provide feedback to users to help them with their motivation to exercise.Older adults will be identified by Central Manchester Falls Service as patients who normally require home exercise. We will test whether patients and health professionals like and can use the technology. We will ask 20 patients to carry out the exercises one-to-one and in a ‘virtual’ group through the technology for 3-weeks. We will hold interviews with patients/focus groups with 15 health professionals to gain feedback.
Changes will be made to the applications based on feedback and preparations for a feasibility trial made.
REC name
North West - Haydock Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/NW/0473
Date of REC Opinion
20 Jun 2016
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion