Fidelity and utility of GPS loggers as a tool for understanding community participation of older adults

Abstract

Objective

The purpose of this research was to examine the fidelity and utility of global positioning system (GPS) technology for studying community mobility indicators, and to explore implications for community participation for older adults.

Method

A longitudinal cohort design with community-dwelling older adults (n = 33) was employed. GPS spatial data and activity logs were collected at baseline and one year later. Data were analysed to evaluate the fidelity of the GPS protocol, the nature and frequency of destinations, and the stability of community mobility over time.

Results

Findings include evidence for high reliability of the GPS loggers to record out-of-home trips when compared to activity logs; utility of the technology for identifying frequency and type of occupational destinations; and the relative stability of two community mobility variables over time. GPS loggers generate key insights into how older adults move in and through their community as they engage in a range of occupations.

Conclusion

GPS technology is a robust and useful tool for gathering novel information, especially when combined with qualitative data. GPS loggers may be incorporated in evaluation or to tailor interventions. Community mobility enables social participation, and warrants further research using these methods to support processes of aging in place.

Keywords:

• Mapping
• community-dwelling
• participation
• GPS
• aging in place

Acknowledgements

I am grateful to numerous occupational therapy students who assisted over the course of this project: Tierra Jones and Echo Presgraves for data collection and management, Sarah Bacon and Maria Michaela Borja for their assistance with the significant hand-tabulation of activity logs, and Jamie Trimble for her support in manuscript preparation and formatting. I am indebted to Kaitlin Heatwole Hershberger for her statistical support, and to the older adults who shared their daily lives via maps.

Research ethics

Reviewed, approved, and monitored by Towson University Institutional Review Board, protocol #1606001518.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that there are no potential conflicts of interest in the design or reporting of this research.

Additional information

Funding

This research was funded by the Towson University School of Emerging Technologies.