Background: Current use of smartphone cameras by parents create opportunities for longitudinal home-video-assessments to monitor infant development. We developed and validated a home-video method for parents, enabling Pediatric Physical Therapists to assess infants’ gross motor development with the Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS). The objective of the present study was to investigate the feasibility of this home-video method from the parents’ perspective. Methods: Parents of 59 typically developing infants (0–19 months) were recruited, 45 parents participated in the study. Information about dropout was collected. A sequential mixed methods design was used to examine feasibility, including questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. While the questionnaires inquired after the practical feasibility of the home-video method, the interviews also allowed parents to comment on their feelings and thoughts using the home-video method. Results: Of 45 participating parents, 34 parents returned both questionnaires and eight parents agreed to an interview. Parent reported effort by the infants was very low: the home-video method is perceived as similar to the normal routine of playing. The parental effort level was acceptable. The main constraint parents reported was time planning. Parents noted it was sometimes difficult to find the right moment to record the infant’s motor behavior, that is, when parents were both at home and their baby was in the appropriate state. Technical problems with the web portal, reported by 28% of the parents were also experienced as a constraint. Positive factors mentioned by parents were: the belief that the home videos are valuable for family use, receiving feedback from a professional, the moments of one-on-one attention and interaction with their babies. Moreover, the process of recording the home videos resulted in an increased parental awareness of, and insight into, the gross motor development of their infant. Conclusion: The AIMS home-video method is feasible for parents of typically developing children. Most constraints are of a practical nature that can be addressed in future applications. Future research is needed to show whether the home-video method is also applicable for parents with an infant at risk of motor development problems.
To face the challenges of an ageing population, many Western countries nowadays stimulate an ageing in place policy to empower older adults to grow old in their own homes with the highest degree of self‐reliance. However, many community‐living older adults experience limitations in (instrumental) activities of daily living ((I)ADLs), which may result in a need for home‐care services. Unfortunately, home‐care workers often provide support by taking over tasks, as they are used to doing things for older adults rather than with them, which undermines their possibilities to maintain their self‐care capabilities. In contrast, reablement focuses on capabilities and opportunities of older adults, rather than on disease and dependency. Consequently, older adults are stimulated to be as active as possible during daily and physical activities. The 'Stay Active at Home' programme was designed to train home‐care workers to apply reablement in practice. To explore the experiences of home‐care workers with this programme an exploratory study was conducting in the Netherlands, between April and July, 2017. In total, 20 participants were interviewed: nine nurses (including a district nurse), 10 domestic support workers and the manager of the domestic support workers. The semi‐structured interviews focused on the experienced improvements with regard to knowledge, skills, self‐efficacy and social support. Furthermore, the most and least appreciated programme components were identified. The study has shown that home‐care workers perceived the programme as useful to apply reablement. However, they also need more support with mastering particular skills and dealing with challenging situations. Future implementation of the 'Stay Active at Home' programme can potentially benefit from small adaptions. Furthermore, future research is needed to examine whether the programme leads to more (cost‐) effective home care.
Background: According to the principles of Reablement, home care services are meant to be goal-oriented, holistic and person-centred taking into account the capabilities and opportunities of older adults. However, home care services traditionally focus on doing things for older adults rather than with them. To implement Reablement in practice, the ‘Stay Active at Home’ programme was developed. It is assumed that the programme leads to a reduction in sedentary behaviour in older adults and consequently more cost-effective outcomes in terms of their health and wellbeing. However, this has yet to be proven. Methods/ design: A two-group cluster randomised controlled trial with 12 months follow-up will be conducted. Ten nursing teams will be selected, pre-stratified on working area and randomised into an intervention group (‘Stay Active at Home’) or control group (no training). All nurses of the participating teams are eligible to participate in the study. Older adults and, if applicable, their domestic support workers (DSWs) will be allocated to the intervention or control group as well, based on the allocation of the nursing team. Older adults are eligible to participate, if they: 1) receive homecare services by the selected teams; and 2) are 65 years or older. Older adults will be excluded if they: 1) are terminally ill or bedbound; 2) have serious cognitive or psychological problems; or 3) are unable to communicate in Dutch. DSWs are eligible to participate if they provide services to clients who fulfil the eligibility criteria for older adults. The study consists of an effect evaluation (primary outcome: sedentary behaviour in older adults), an economic evaluation and a process evaluation. Data for the effect and economic evaluation will be collected at baseline and 6 and/or 12 months after baseline using performance-based and self-reported measures. In addition, data from client records will be extracted. A mixed-methods design will be applied for the process evaluation, collecting data of older adults and professionals throughout the study period. Discussion: This study will result in evidence about the effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and feasibility of the ‘Stay Active at Home’ programme.
Digital innovations in the field of immersive Augmented Reality (AR) can be a solution to offer adults who are mentally, physically or financially unable to attend sporting events such as premier league football a stadium and match experience. This allows them to continue to connect with their social networks. In the intended project, AR content will be further developed with the aim of evoking the stadium experience of home matches as much as possible. The extent to which AR enriches the experience is then tested in an experiment, in which the experience of a football match with and without AR enrichment is measured in a stadium setting and in a home setting. The experience is measured with physiological signals. In addition, a subjective experience measure is also being developed and benchmarked (the experience impact score). Societal issueInclusion and health: The joint experience of (top) sports competitions forms a platform for vulnerable adults, with a limited social capital, to build up and maintain the social networks that are so necessary for them. AR to fight against social isolation and loneliness.
Everybody has conscious and unconscious experiences during their holidays. They usually impact your life to a limited degree, but sometimes you have an experience as a result of which you will have a new outlook on life from that moment onwards: a life-changing experience.There are travelers who consciously seek a place in which they can have this type of experiences. Think, for instance of a wellness resort in Bali, in which you learn to eat healthy food and monitor your work-life balance. When returning from this holiday, you are likely to change course and take the plunge.You could also have an unconscious (spontaneous) experience during your holiday. An experience of which you did not know you would ever have it. You are being triggered, and when arriving home, you are going to take action to change things for the better. You may have visited an orphanage or a nature reserve during a round trip for which you are going to set up a fund-raising appeal after your holidays.This PhD research will seek answers to the following questions:• Can a life-changing experience be designed?• To what degree can a life-changing experience lead to a sustainable behavioural change? Partner: University of Surrey
