A Priori Acceptability of a Multimodal System for the Early Detection of Frailty in Older Adults

Introduction

Frailty would affect 4 out of 5 people aged of 85 and over in France.

Methods

As part of a global project aimed to develop a multimodal system for the early detection of frailty among older adults living at home or in independent senior living apartments, we reported prospective quantitative study assessing a priori acceptability of this system based on Bel's integrative model devoted to the behavioral prediction use of an unknown technology. The platform is composed of 5 devices: a weight scale, a tensiometer, a wrist-worn step counter, an activity tracker and a tablet to exchange data with the aforementioned sensors over the internet. The inclusion criteria are: age 2: 80 years old, living at home or in independent senior living apartments, assessed as ‘robust’ or ‘pre-frail’. The a priori acceptability is assessed through self-evaluation questionnaires, mainly using a continuous scale (min-max score 1-7).

Results

We included 34 volunteers (24 women and 10 men), mean age 85.6 years (± 4.1), 24 of whom were classified as ‘robust’ and 10 as ‘pre-frail’. A priori utility of the multimodal system (mean score = 6.0 (± 0.9)), a priori intention of use (mean score = 5.9 (± 0.8)) and the rate of recommendation of the device before its first use (82.4% (± 17.4)) were clearly in favor of the device.

Conclusion

This study is in favor of an a priori acceptability and an a priori intention to use rather favorable to the developing system. Those results point a need for significant ease of use and almost-perfect functioning of this connected system for good acceptability.