Note: ProACT publications below. For Deliverables, please click here

A Review of Activity Trackers for Senior Citizens

Authors

Tedesco, S., Barton, J. and O'Flynn, B.

Published in

Sensors

Type

Journal Article

Year

2017

Abstract: The objective assessment of physical activity levels through wearable inertial-basedmotion detectors for the automatic, continuous and long-term monitoring of people in free-livingenvironments is a well-known research area in the literature. However, their application to olderadults can present particular constraints. This paper reviews the adoption of wearable devices insenior citizens by describing various researches for monitoring physical activity indicators, such asenergy expenditure, posture transitions, activity classification, fall detection and prediction, gait andbalance analysis, also by adopting consumer-grade fitness trackers with the associated limitationsregarding acceptability. This review also describes and compares existing commercial productsencompassing activity trackers tailored for older adults, thus providing a comprehensive outlook ofthe status of commercially available motion tracking systems. Finally, the impact of wearable deviceson life and health insurance companies, with a description of the potential benefits for the industryand the wearables market, was analyzed as an example of the potential emerging market drivers forsuch technology in the future.

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Medication Management for Older Adults with Multimorbidity

Authors

Doyle, J., Murphy, E., Smith, S., Hannigan, C., Kuiper, J., Jacobs, A. and Dinsmore, J.

Published in

Pervasive Health

Type

Conference Paper

Year

2017

Abstract: Multimorbidity, the presence of two or more chronic conditions, places a significant burden on health systems globally. People managing multiple chronic conditions face burdensome and complex treatment plans. Polypharmacy, the prescription of several drugs, is typical in this cohort, adding to the treatment burden and potentially resulting in dangerous drug interactions. The goal of our work is to design a medication management application for older people with multimorbidity, and those within their care ecosystem. In this paper we present findings from interviews and focus groups with 124 participants, including older adults, informal and formal carers, and healthcare professionals. We outline six design requirements and describe how our design process is grounded in a strong, theoretical behaviour change approach that will allow us to fully evaluate the effectiveness of our design for medication management for those with multimorbidity, supported by their care network.

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Perceptions and use of technology to support older adults with multimorbidity

Authors

Murphy, E., Doyle, J., Hannigan, C., Kuiper, J., Jacobs, A., Hoogerwerf, E.J., Desideri, L., Fiordelmondo, V., Maluccelli, L., Brady, A.M. and Dinsmore, J

Published in

Studies in Health Technology and Informatics

Type

Conference Poster

Year

2017

Abstract: Digital technologies hold great potential to improve and advance home based integrated care for older people living with multiple chronic health conditions. In this paper, we present the results of a user requirement study for a planned digital integrated care system, based on the experiences and needs of key stakeholders. We present rich, multi-stakeholder, qualitative data on the perceptions and use of technology among older people with multiple chronic health conditions and their key support actors. We have outlined our future work for the design of the system, which will involve continuous stakeholder engagement through a user-centred co-design method.

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A review of activity trackers for older adults

Authors

Barton, J., O'Flynn, B. and Tedesco, S.

Published in

AAATE Conference

Type

Conference Paper

Year

2017

Abstract: The objective assessment of physical activity levels through wearable inertial-based motion detectors for an automatic, continuous and long-term monitoring of people in free-living environments is a well-known research area in literature. However, their application to older adults can present particular constraints. This paper reviews the methods of measuring physical activity, adoption of wearable devices in older adults, describes and compares existing commercial products encompassing activity trackers tailored for older participants.

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Note Highlights - Surfacing Relevant Concepts from Unstructured Notes for Health Professionals

Authors

Lopez, V., Bettencourt-Silva, J., McCarthy, G., Mulligan, N., Cucci, F., Deparis, S. Sbodio, S., et al.

Published in

IEEE International Conference on Healthcare Informatics (ICHI)

Type

Conference

Year

2017

Abstract: Health and social care professionals are under increasing pressure to assimilate the ever-growing volume of data from case notes and electronic medical records. In this paper, we propose and evaluate with domain experts a cognitive system for patient-centric care that leverages and combines natural language processing, semantics, and learning from users over time to support care professionals making informed and timely decisions while reducing the burden of interacting with large volumes of unstructured patient notes. We propose methods for highlighting the entities embedded in the unstructured data and providing a personalized view of an individual. We evaluate through a user study and show a consensus between what the domain experts and the system consider relevant and discuss early feedback on the value of our Note Highlights methods to domain experts.

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