Katrin Claßen

Assessing the effect of a physical activity intervention in a nursing home ecology: a natural lab approach.

BackgroundPhysical activity (PA) is not only an important marker of physical impairment, but also a pathway to improve quality of life and enhance cognitive and social functioning of old individuals. Yet, making interventional use of PA training as a means for prevention and enhancement of quality of life of nursing home residents has found very limited attention worldwide so far. That said, the project ‘Long-term Care in Motion’ (LTCMo) as a part of the INNOVAGE consortium (funded by the European Commission) has the following aims: Overall: Install and assess a socially innovative intervention in the nursing home ecology. Concrete: (a) Conceptualization of a multidimensional intervention program (resident and staff oriented) with the potential to promote PA in nursing home residents; (b) Mixed-methods assessment of the program based on automated recording as well as questionnaire data.Methods/DesignLTCMo’s PA-related intervention has several components which are applied in parallel manner: (1) Residents are engaged in a physical exercise program that is based on multiple approaches: supervised group sessions, a serious games approach, and specific training in severely impaired persons; (2) Staff members will receive a competence training with a focus on PA motivation and facilitation of residents’ PA engagement. Primary outcome assessment (movement-related behavior of residents) is completely conducted by means of automated data collection strategies (accelerometer-based activity recording, sensor-based life space recording). This is enriched by a broad range of secondary outcomes (e.g., cognitive performance, depression of residents; behavioral and attitudinal components of staff). Pre-, post- and 3-month follow-up assessment will take place in the target intervention setting as well as in a waiting control condition in which we will also replicate the training and its assessment in a later step.DiscussionAlthough we are faced with methodological challenges (e.g., rather small sample size; no randomized control trial), we believe that our approach has something to offer and indeed has some unique characteristics that may have the potential to contribute to the enhancement of nursing home residents’ quality of life and at the same time further PA-related research with vulnerable populations at large.Trial registrationCurrent Controlled Trials ISRCTN96090441. Registered 31 July 2014.

Technik als zunehmend bedeutsame Umwelt für Ältere: Ein Überblick zu Konzepten, Befunden und Herausforderungen

Einführung A. 15 Technik, gutes Leben und gutes Altern B. 17 Einordnung der Gerontechnology in die allgemeine Alternsforschung C. 19 Ausgewählte Befunde der Gerontechnology-Forschung in Bezug auf nicht primär kognitiv beeinträchtigte ältere Menschen D. 21 Ausgewählte Befunde der Gerontechnology-Forschung in Bezug auf primär kognitiv beeinträchtigte ältere Menschen E. 23 Versuch einer Zusammenschau: Potentiale &Grenzen von Technologien für Ältere F. 26 Literatur G. 28

Technology and Ageing: Potential for European Societies

The issue of aging and technology has been and remains to be a key issue in European aging research as well as in major European funding schemes such as the Framework Programs (see the issue of “Ambient Assisted Living/AAL” in particular). In this chapter, we address the various roles which technology may take over in order to serve the quality of life and autonomy of older adults. To achieve this goal, we compile the evidence gathered in the respective European as well as the Asian and North American research communities and examine synergies, complementarities and existing research and implementation gaps. In order to illustrate, we also draw from our own research, such as research projects targeting the role of technology in long-term institutions, the potential and constraints of technology for cognitively impaired older adults, and the role of technology acceptance in general for aging well. This chapter concludes that technology can be seen as a major context able to infuse development in old age and closes with future research challenges.