The acceptability of wearing activity monitors in people with dementia
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The acceptability of wearing consumer-level activity monitors in older adults with memory problems.
IRAS ID
224433
Contact name
Nicolas Farina
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 7 months, 1 days
Research summary
Physical activity has the potential to improve quality of life in dementia, being able to improve health, reduce depression, stimulate conversation, and engage with the environment. However, there has been few studies that have investigated this relationship, in part due to issues in measuring physical activity. It is quite common for researchers to use questionnaires to measure physical activity, and whilst they are easy to implement and low-cost, they have been criticised in terms of their accuracy. Measuring physical activity habits in dementia is more problematic as these questionnaires have not been validated for this group, with memory difficulties further impairing recall. Consumer-level (i.e. shop bought) activity monitors have gained popularity and has led to the wide spread availability of activity monitor technology that is also affordable. Several of these devices have even been shown to be nearly as accurate as monitors developed specifically for research purposes, for a fraction of the price. They also benefit from features that might be best suited for people with dementia, including: small dimensions, being wrist worn, having a long battery life and being waterproof. Recently, these devices have been used in people with dementia, though the acceptability of wearing such devices are still not clear, with some participants refusing to wear them or removing them during the study. There is little evidence on how people with dementia view these devices, or whether there are design features that are not preferable. This will be the first study to explore the opinions of wearing such consumer-level activity monitors in people with dementia. The findings of the study will give us a better understanding about what design features are important when choosing consumer-level activity monitors to measure physical activity in people with dementia.
REC name
London - Brighton & Sussex Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/LO/0943
Date of REC Opinion
26 Jun 2017
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion