Alzheimer Europe Conference
PO1.4. GALLAGHER Niamh - Using Fitbit to record activity levels and sleep quality in people with dementia
PO1.4. Using Fitbit to record activity levels and sleep quality in people with dementia
GALLAGHER Niamh, DOYLE Priscilla, SMYTH Siobhán, CASEY Dympna
National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland
This poster outlines the findings on the acceptability and feasibility of using Fitbit to record activity levels and sleep quality in people with dementia, as part of a multi-component psychosocial intervention.
Nine community-dwelling people with mild to moderate dementia were asked to wear a Fitbit, day and night, for the duration of an 8-week exercise programme. A key initial finding was that none of the people with dementia owned smartphones. The Fitbits were therefore set up on their primary carers’ phones, with the permission of both parties, and people with dementia were shown how to access their data. People with dementia were asked to charge the Fitbit and sync the device to their carer’s phone weekly. The feasibility and acceptability of wearing the Fitbit was captured via qualitative interviews with people with dementia and their primary carers (n=18). Daily activity and sleep data were extracted to assess wear time and frequency of data synchronisation. The time needed for researchers in relation to initial set-up and follow-up support was also recorded.
Overall, acceptability of wearing the Fitbit among people with dementia was high, and carers were willing to support people with dementia to use it during the study. However, preliminary results indicate adherence to wearing the device over the 8 weeks of the exercise programme was low: wear time was higher for daytime activity tracking than for night-time sleep tracking. Few people with dementia engaged with the Fitbit features, primarily using it to check the time. Carers involvement was essential to facilitate set-up, charging and syncing the device, and technical issues required ongoing support from researchers.
Most people with dementia found the Fitbit acceptable to wear, yet few continuously wore it during the study, suggesting that significant researcher support and carer input would be required to improve adherence in future studies.
PO1.4. GALLAGHER Niamh - Using Fitbit to record activity levels and sleep quality in people with dementia
PO1.4. Using Fitbit to record activity levels and sleep quality in people with dementia
GALLAGHER Niamh, DOYLE Priscilla, SMYTH Siobhán, CASEY Dympna
National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland
This poster outlines the findings on the acceptability and feasibility of using Fitbit to record activity levels and sleep quality in people with dementia, as part of a multi-component psychosocial intervention.
Nine community-dwelling people with mild to moderate dementia were asked to wear a Fitbit, day and night, for the duration of an 8-week exercise programme. A key initial finding was that none of the people with dementia owned smartphones. The Fitbits were therefore set up on their primary carers’ phones, with the permission of both parties, and people with dementia were shown how to access their data. People with dementia were asked to charge the Fitbit and sync the device to their carer’s phone weekly. The feasibility and acceptability of wearing the Fitbit was captured via qualitative interviews with people with dementia and their primary carers (n=18). Daily activity and sleep data were extracted to assess wear time and frequency of data synchronisation. The time needed for researchers in relation to initial set-up and follow-up support was also recorded.
Overall, acceptability of wearing the Fitbit among people with dementia was high, and carers were willing to support people with dementia to use it during the study. However, preliminary results indicate adherence to wearing the device over the 8 weeks of the exercise programme was low: wear time was higher for daytime activity tracking than for night-time sleep tracking. Few people with dementia engaged with the Fitbit features, primarily using it to check the time. Carers involvement was essential to facilitate set-up, charging and syncing the device, and technical issues required ongoing support from researchers.
Most people with dementia found the Fitbit acceptable to wear, yet few continuously wore it during the study, suggesting that significant researcher support and carer input would be required to improve adherence in future studies.