Sensor monitoring to measure and support activities of daily living for independently living older persons

There is an urgent need to develop interventions that enable older persons to perform everyday activities in order to remain healthy and live independently at home. This thesis focuses on the applicability and effectiveness of sensor monitoring for measuring and supporting the daily functioning of older persons who live independently at home. We investigated the use of sensor monitoring in two ways. First, we focused on the assessment of a person’s level of daily functioning through sensor monitoring, in order to detect deviations in the activities of daily living (ADL) patterns and to warn caregivers or health professionals of existing deviations. Second, we used sensor monitoring as a feedback and coaching tool in hip fracture patients to support the rehabilitation process in an attempt to increase everyday functioning. In this first large scale randomized trial (SO-HIP study) we included 240 older patients after hip fracture. The findings show that a rehabilitation intervention of sensor monitoring-informed coaching was more effective in improving patient-reported performance of daily functioning at six months than an intervention with care as usual. Parallel to the trial, we conducted a qualitative study, wherein we interviewed patients to better understand the recovery process after hip fracture. According to the patients, insight into sensor data, having positive experiences during recovery and coaching and support after discharge all led to maximized functional recovery and return to the highest level of independence in daily functioning. Given the positive results of the trial, the implementation of the SO-HIP intervention is justified and recommended.