Relationship of Community Mobility, Vital Space, and Faller Status in Older Adults

Community mobility, encompassing both active (e.g., walking) and passive (e.g., driving) transport, plays a crucial role in maintaining autonomy and social interaction among older adults. This study aimed to quantify community mobility in older adults and explore the relationship between GPS- and ac...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Diego Robles Cruz, Andrea Lira Belmar, Anthony Fleury, Méline Lam, Rossana M. Castro Andrade, Sebastián Puebla Quiñones, Carla Taramasco Toro
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-11-01
Series:Sensors
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/24/23/7651
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850060298767040512
author Diego Robles Cruz
Andrea Lira Belmar
Anthony Fleury
Méline Lam
Rossana M. Castro Andrade
Sebastián Puebla Quiñones
Carla Taramasco Toro
author_facet Diego Robles Cruz
Andrea Lira Belmar
Anthony Fleury
Méline Lam
Rossana M. Castro Andrade
Sebastián Puebla Quiñones
Carla Taramasco Toro
author_sort Diego Robles Cruz
collection DOAJ
description Community mobility, encompassing both active (e.g., walking) and passive (e.g., driving) transport, plays a crucial role in maintaining autonomy and social interaction among older adults. This study aimed to quantify community mobility in older adults and explore the relationship between GPS- and accelerometer-derived metrics and fall risk. Methods: A total of 129 older adults, with and without a history of falls, were monitored over an 8 h period using GPS and accelerometer data. Three experimental conditions were evaluated: GPS data alone, accelerometer data alone, and a combination of both. Classification models, including Random Forest (RF), Support Vector Machines (SVMs), and K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN), were employed to classify participants based on their fall history. Results: For GPS data alone, RF achieved 74% accuracy, while SVM and KNN reached 67% and 62%, respectively. Using accelerometer data, RF achieved 95% accuracy, and both SVM and KNN achieved 90%. Combining GPS and accelerometer data improved model performance, with RF reaching 97% accuracy, SVM achieving 95%, and KNN 87%. Conclusion: The integration of GPS and accelerometer data significantly enhances the accuracy of distinguishing older adults with and without a history of falls. These findings highlight the potential of sensor-based approaches for accurate fall risk assessment in community-dwelling older adults.
format Article
id doaj-art-6b83a045a1594017abefc197cee7beb4
institution DOAJ
issn 1424-8220
language English
publishDate 2024-11-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Sensors
spelling doaj-art-6b83a045a1594017abefc197cee7beb42025-08-20T02:50:37ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202024-11-012423765110.3390/s24237651Relationship of Community Mobility, Vital Space, and Faller Status in Older AdultsDiego Robles Cruz0Andrea Lira Belmar1Anthony Fleury2Méline Lam3Rossana M. Castro Andrade4Sebastián Puebla Quiñones5Carla Taramasco Toro6Escuela de Ingeniería Civil Informática, Universidad de Valparaíso, Valparaíso 2361827, ChileCenter of Interdisciplinary Biomedical and Engineering Research for Health—MEDING Universidad de Valparaíso, Valparaíso 2520000, ChileIMT Nord Europe, Institut Mines Télécom, Centre for Digital Systems, 59650 Villeneuve d’Ascq, FranceIMT Nord Europe, Institut Mines Télécom, Centre for Digital Systems, 59650 Villeneuve d’Ascq, FranceGroup of Computer Networks, Software Engineering and Systems (GREat), Computer Science Department (DC), Federal University of Ceará (UFC), Campus do Pici, Bloco 910, Fortaleza 60440-900, BrazilInstituto de Tecnología para la Innovación en Salud y Bienestar, Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad Andrés Bello, Viña del Mar 2520000, ChileInstituto de Tecnología para la Innovación en Salud y Bienestar, Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad Andrés Bello, Viña del Mar 2520000, ChileCommunity mobility, encompassing both active (e.g., walking) and passive (e.g., driving) transport, plays a crucial role in maintaining autonomy and social interaction among older adults. This study aimed to quantify community mobility in older adults and explore the relationship between GPS- and accelerometer-derived metrics and fall risk. Methods: A total of 129 older adults, with and without a history of falls, were monitored over an 8 h period using GPS and accelerometer data. Three experimental conditions were evaluated: GPS data alone, accelerometer data alone, and a combination of both. Classification models, including Random Forest (RF), Support Vector Machines (SVMs), and K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN), were employed to classify participants based on their fall history. Results: For GPS data alone, RF achieved 74% accuracy, while SVM and KNN reached 67% and 62%, respectively. Using accelerometer data, RF achieved 95% accuracy, and both SVM and KNN achieved 90%. Combining GPS and accelerometer data improved model performance, with RF reaching 97% accuracy, SVM achieving 95%, and KNN 87%. Conclusion: The integration of GPS and accelerometer data significantly enhances the accuracy of distinguishing older adults with and without a history of falls. These findings highlight the potential of sensor-based approaches for accurate fall risk assessment in community-dwelling older adults.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/24/23/7651fall riskcommunity mobilitygait patterns
spellingShingle Diego Robles Cruz
Andrea Lira Belmar
Anthony Fleury
Méline Lam
Rossana M. Castro Andrade
Sebastián Puebla Quiñones
Carla Taramasco Toro
Relationship of Community Mobility, Vital Space, and Faller Status in Older Adults
Sensors
fall risk
community mobility
gait patterns
title Relationship of Community Mobility, Vital Space, and Faller Status in Older Adults
title_full Relationship of Community Mobility, Vital Space, and Faller Status in Older Adults
title_fullStr Relationship of Community Mobility, Vital Space, and Faller Status in Older Adults
title_full_unstemmed Relationship of Community Mobility, Vital Space, and Faller Status in Older Adults
title_short Relationship of Community Mobility, Vital Space, and Faller Status in Older Adults
title_sort relationship of community mobility vital space and faller status in older adults
topic fall risk
community mobility
gait patterns
url https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/24/23/7651
work_keys_str_mv AT diegoroblescruz relationshipofcommunitymobilityvitalspaceandfallerstatusinolderadults
AT andrealirabelmar relationshipofcommunitymobilityvitalspaceandfallerstatusinolderadults
AT anthonyfleury relationshipofcommunitymobilityvitalspaceandfallerstatusinolderadults
AT melinelam relationshipofcommunitymobilityvitalspaceandfallerstatusinolderadults
AT rossanamcastroandrade relationshipofcommunitymobilityvitalspaceandfallerstatusinolderadults
AT sebastianpueblaquinones relationshipofcommunitymobilityvitalspaceandfallerstatusinolderadults
AT carlataramascotoro relationshipofcommunitymobilityvitalspaceandfallerstatusinolderadults