In this Living Lab the following research question will be answered:
1. What is the accuracy of the Activ8 with respect to the estimation of energy consumption and determination of activities in the daily lives of elderly people?
2. What are the experiences of different user groups with respect to the Activ8, with a special attention for elderly people?
3. What is the added value of the deployment of a life style coach rather than solely an activity sensor with online coaching for different target groups, and in particular for elderly people?
Approach research question 1:
Through a laboratory validation with 6 test persons (students/employees of Fontys Sporthogeschool), the activity of standard activities (3 speeds walking, 3 speeds running and 3 speeds cycling) will be measured by both the Activ8 and indirect calorimetry. Hereby, indirect calorimetry is seen as the golden standard for determining energy consumption (Haugen, Chan, & Li, 2007). The algorithms of the Activ8 will consequently be adjusted based on these measurements. Subsequently, the same protocol will be done with 6 test persons in order to see the extent to which it corresponds.
Besides, it will be checked if the Activ8 is able to determine which activities took place in the daily lives of a group of students. 30 students will wear the Activ8 for a day and write in an activity diary at the same time. In this diary, they have to write accurately which activities they have executed, when and for how long. The measurements will possibly be supplemented by the use of the ActiGraph (cross-validation). The same intervention will then by executed by employees of Fontys Sporthogeschool, before doing the envisioned intervention by two groups of elderly people: (1) elderly people who participate in one of the PAC’s of Fontys Sporthogeschool, and (2) elderly people who live in a care facility.
Outcome measures: validation with respect to the energy consumption (extent of correspondence) and extent of correspondence between the Acti8 and the activity diary (possibly supplemented by the ActiGraph measurement).
Deliverables:
- Execution and report of validation study (article and factsheet).
- Presentation of results at national and/or international symposia/conferences.
- Input for student 2.
- Graduate projects of Bachelor students will focus on this research question.
Approach research question 2:
User experiences concerning the use of the Activ8 will in first instance be tested by a group of students. In this way, the tool for defining user experiences can be fine-tuned. Students will wear the Activ8 during a week and will then fill in a questionnaire concerning their user experiences, awareness of the use of the Activ8 and behavioural changes due to the use of the Activ8.
Consequently a group of employees of Fontys will wear the Activ8 during three weeks. These employees will be examined during focus groups concerning their user experiences, behavioural changes and recommendations for future developments of the Activ8. Based on this the examination tool and approach for the focus groups will be determined prior to defining the user experiences of elderly people. Elderly people will also wear the Activ8 during three weeks. After these three weeks, their experiences will be collected via interviews.
Outcome measures: qualitative information regarding the user friendliness and needs and wishes of different target groups.
Also, it will be checked if the Activ8 can be further developed so that data can be analyzed in an efficient and fast way for a large group of people.
Deliverables:
- Execution and report of user analysis (article and factsheet).
- Presentation of the results at national and/or international symposia/conferences.
- Tool for analyzing data in an efficient and fast way for a large group of people.
Approach research question 3:
The user experiences from study 2 will be included in the execution of study 3. Students of Fontys Sporthogeschool will in first instance apply the Activ8 including the coachingsmodule to employees of Fontys. The participants will be divided in two groups: one group that uses the Activ8 including the coachingsmodule, and one group that only uses the Activ8 without personal coaching. The same study, in which students of Fontys Sporthogeschool also act as personal coaches, will be applied to elderly people. In the PAC, elderly people, often with a chronical disorder, exercise under the guidance of students. These students are in turn guided by activity scientists of the Sporthogeschool. Students who participate in the PAC are being trained in coaching.
The amount of activity (measured by the Activ8) will be compared between the two groups. Apart from that, a focus group will be held with the group who made use of personal coaching in both circumstances (employees and elderly people) to evaluate user experiences related to coaching. Based on this, suggestions will be formulated to optimize the coachingsmodule (i.e. personal online dashboard).
Deliverables:
- Execution and report of the intervention (article and factsheet).
- Presentation of the results of national and/or international symposia/conferences.
- Input for further development coachings’ software and workshop for coaches.
- The graduate projects of Bachelor students will focus on this research question.
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Contact details
Do you have any comments/enquiries/suggestions? Please contact the project partners via the following email address: livinglab.activ8@brainportdevelopment.nl. We are happy to hear from you!
Twitter: @LivingLabActiv8