Abstract
This study designs, implements, and evaluates a digital assistive technology intervention for older adults, focusing on fall risk and sleep quality. The results aim to enhance safety and quality of life and advance OT practices.
Primary Author and Speaker: John Nordeck IV
Contributing Authors: Austin Zacher, Carson Deyo, Yve Clarence Bitoy, Mikayla Myers
Collaboratively design and implement an occupational therapy intervention for older adults (OA) in Yellowstone County that addresses fall risk and sleep using digital assistive technology (DAT). (2) Evaluate the intervention’s feasibility, contextual factors, and impact on fall risk, and sleep-related outcomes in OA. A Quasi-Experimental Convergent Mixed Methods design will be used to collect both quantitative and qualitative data through the use of interview, survey, and assessments. Participants will be recruited by snowball sampling with our community partner, Highgate Senior Living in Billings, MT. A group of 5 participants will be selected to participate. A group of semi-structured interviews and assessments will be administered before implementation of the DAT. These assessments will cover topics such as, fall risk, self-perceived risk of falls, and sleep quality. The assistive technology will then be implemented into the participants’ home environments and the assessments and semi structured interviews will be readministered at the end of the study to determine if there was any significant data. The research aims to comprehensively understand the intervention’s effects on participants’ sleep, incidence of falls, and overall experiences with the DAT. It will reduce fall risks and help participants understand the value of technology with the occupational lens and how it could be applied in the practice and the participants’ daily lives. The findings in this research will not only help to understand the real effects of DAT but also provide valuable information that could greatly shape forthcoming interventions and research initiatives.
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