A pilot study using global positioning systems (GPS) devices and surveys to ascertain older adults' travel patterns

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

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.

Location monitoring of physical activity and participation in community dwelling older people: a scoping review

Background: Community participation and physical activity are important for the health of older adults. This review aimed to identify studies which have measured physical activity and community participation in older adults using Global positioning systems.Materials and methods: This scoping review searched key databases using predetermined subject headings and keywords. Two independent reviewers selected studies based on a systematic procedure following current guidelines. Inclusion criteria for studies were: participants aged over 50 years living independently in the community that reported on physical activity and/or participation inclusive of physical and social activity, and including a quantitative measure of location. All searches were limited to English. The primary review question was; "What studies have monitored the location of physical activity in an older population?" with secondary enquiries investigating the types of global positioning system devices, barriers and facilitators for activity and community participation.Results: The search returned 3723 articles (following duplicate removal) and 45 met the inclusion criteria. Studies from 12 countries published over a 12-year period were included. Participants were mainly healthy (n = 23) followed by having a cognitive impairment (n = 10). There were 14 different global positioning system devices used, assessing a variety of outcomes (n = 24). Seventeen studies identified facilitators and barriers to participation and physical activity in an older population. The most common facilitators were safety, weather and access to multi-purpose facilities. The most common barriers were weather, safety, low income/high deprivation areas and use of motor vehicles.Conclusion: This scoping review identified a variety of locational monitoring of older people using global positioning devices. Global positioning systems are a valuable tool to obtain accurate activity locations of older people. There is a need for clear guidelines regarding the use of global positioning system devices and specified outcomes in primary research to enable comparison across studies.Implications for rehabilitationPhysical activity and community participation are vital for healthy ageing.The environment can act as a facilitator or barrier to physical activity and community participation for older adults.Interventions need to target facilitators (weather, safety, facility access and social components) to maximize physical activity and community participation in older people.Interventions should be designed to reduce the barriers (weather, safety, low income and motor vehicle dependency) that prevent older adults from actively participating in their community.

Challenges in using wearable GPS devices in low-income older adults: Can map-based interviews help with assessments of mobility?

Daily mobility, defined as the ability to move oneself within one's neighborhood and regions beyond, is an important construct, which affects people as they age. Having a feasible and valid measure of daily mobility is essential to understand how it affects older adults' everyday life. Given the limitations of existing measures, new tools may be needed. The purpose of the study is to assess the feasibility and practicality of using the map-based questionnaire system VERITAS and GPS devices to measure daily mobility in older adults living in a deprived neighborhood in Denmark. Older adults were recruited from two senior housing areas, completed an interview using VERITAS and wore a GPS for 7 days. Feasibility of both methods was assessed by looking at practicalities, recruitment and compliance, and ability to measure daily mobility.Thirty-four older adults completed the VERITAS questionnaire, of which 23 wore the GPS device. Remembering to wear and charge the GPS was difficult for 48% participants, whereas remembering street names and drawing routes in VERITAS was difficult for two. Both the GPS and VERITAS were able to measure 10 out of the 13 identified components of mobility; however, VERITAS seemed more qualified at measuring daily mobility for this target population. The feasibility of assessing mobility may vary by specific context and study population being investigated. Wearable technology like a GPS may not be acceptable to low socioeconomic older adults, whereas interview led self-reported measurements like VERITAS might be more suitable for a low socioeconomic elderly population.

Using Google Location History data to quantify fine-scale human mobility

Background

Human mobility is fundamental to understanding global issues in the health and social sciences such as disease spread and displacements from disasters and conflicts. Detailed mobility data across spatial and temporal scales are difficult to collect, however, with movements varying from short, repeated movements to work or school, to rare migratory movements across national borders. While typical sources of mobility data such as travel history surveys and GPS tracker data can inform different typologies of movement, almost no source of readily obtainable data can address all types of movement at once.

Methods

Here, we collect Google Location History (GLH) data and examine it as a novel source of information that could link fine scale mobility with rare, long distance and international trips, as it uniquely spans large temporal scales with high spatial granularity. These data are passively collected by Android smartphones, which reach increasingly broad audiences, becoming the most common operating system for accessing the Internet worldwide in 2017. We validate GLH data against GPS tracker data collected from Android users in the United Kingdom to assess the feasibility of using GLH data to inform human movement.

Results

We find that GLH data span very long temporal periods (over a year on average in our sample), are spatially equivalent to GPS tracker data within 100 m, and capture more international movement than survey data. We also find GLH data avoid compliance concerns seen with GPS trackers and bias in self-reported travel, as GLH is passively collected. We discuss some settings where GLH data could provide novel insights, including infrastructure planning, infectious disease control, and response to catastrophic events, and discuss advantages and disadvantages of using GLH data to inform human mobility patterns.

Conclusions

GLH data are a greatly underutilized and novel dataset for understanding human movement. While biases exist in populations with GLH data, Android phones are becoming the first and only device purchased to access the Internet and various web services in many middle and lower income settings, making these data increasingly appropriate for a wide range of scientific questions.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12942-018-0150-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Quantifying spatial misclassification in exposure to noise complaints among low-income housing residents across New York City neighborhoods: a Global Positioning System (GPS) study

PURPOSE

To examine if there was spatial misclassification in exposure to neighborhood noise complaints among a sample of low-income housing residents in New York City, comparing home-based spatial buffers and Global Positioning System (GPS) daily path buffers.

METHODS

Data came from the community-based NYC Low-Income Housing, Neighborhoods and Health Study, where GPS tracking of the sample was conducted for a week (analytic n = 102). We created a GPS daily path buffer (a buffering zone drawn around GPS tracks) of 200 m and 400 m. We also used home-based buffers of 200 m and 400 m. Using these "neighborhoods" (or exposure areas), we calculated neighborhood exposure to noisy events from 311 complaints data (analytic n = 143,967). Friedman tests (to compare overall differences in neighborhood definitions) were applied.

RESULTS

There were differences in neighborhood noise complaints according to the selected neighborhood definitions (P < .05). For example, the mean neighborhood noise complaint count was 1196 per square kilometer for the 400-m home-based and 812 per square kilometer for the 400-m activity space buffer, illustrating how neighborhood definition influences the estimates of exposure to neighborhood noise complaints.

CONCLUSIONS

These analyses suggest that, whenever appropriate, GPS neighborhood definitions can be used in spatial epidemiology research in spatially mobile populations to understand people's lived experience.

Feasibility and Acceptability of Global Positioning System (GPS) Methods to Study the Spatial Contexts of Substance Use and Sexual Risk Behaviors among Young Men Who Have Sex with Men in New York City: A P18 Cohort Sub-Study

Background

No global positioning system (GPS) technology study has been conducted among a sample of young gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (YMSM). As such, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of using GPS methods to understand the spatial context of substance use and sexual risk behaviors among a sample of YMSM in New York City, a high-risk population.

Methods

Data came from a subsample of the ongoing P18 Cohort Study (n = 75). GPS feasibility and acceptability among participants was measured with: 1) a pre- and post-survey and 2) adherence to the GPS protocol which included returning the GPS device, self-report of charging and carrying the GPS device as well as objective data analyzed from the GPS devices. Analyses of the feasibility surveys were treated as repeated measures as each participant had a pre- and post-feasibility survey. When comparing the similar GPS survey items asked at baseline and at follow-up, we present percentages and associated p-values based on chi-square statistics.

Results

Participants reported high ratings of pre-GPS acceptability, ease of use, and low levels of wear-related concerns in addition to few concerns related to safety, loss, or appearance, which were maintained after baseline GPS feasibility data collection. The GPS return rate was 100%. Most participants charged and carried the GPS device on most days. Of the total of 75 participants with GPS data, 75 (100%) have at least one hour of GPS data for one day and 63 (84%) had at least one hour on all 7 days.

Conclusions

Results from this pilot study demonstrate that utilizing GPS methods among YMSM is feasible and acceptable. GPS devices may be used in spatial epidemiology research in YMSM populations to understand place-based determinants of health such as substance use and sexual risk behaviors.

Mapping Multi-Day GPS Data: A Cartographic Study in NYC

Multi-day GPS data is increasingly being used in research-including in the field of spatial epidemiology. We present several maps as ways to present multi-day GPS data. Data come from the NYC Low-Income Housing, Neighborhoods and Health Study (n=120). Participants wore a QStarz BT-Q1000XT GPS device for about a week (mean: 7.44, SD= 2.15). Our maps show various ways to visualize multi-day GPS data; these data are presented by overall GPS data, by weekday/weekend and by day of the week. We discuss implications for each of the maps.

INTERSECTING SELF-REPORTED MOBILITY AND GAIT SPEED TO CREATEA MULTI-DIMENSIONAL MEASURE OF AMBULATION: THE "AMBULATION SPEED-ENDURANCE" (ASE) TYPOLOGY

BACKGROUND

Assessing mobility through readily available and affordable protocols may help advance public health by providing early detection and implementing intervention therapies aimed at mitigating the progression from physiological vitality to disability at older ages. Until now, little attention has been given to how self-reported mobility (SRM) and gait speed can be combined in a categorization scheme.

OBJECTIVES

The specific aim of this report is to introduce the Ambulation Speed-Endurance (ASE) Typology to the literature-a classification system that intersects SRM and gait speed to create a multi-dimensional measure of ambulation.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional.

SETTING

Community-dwelling older adults in the United States.

PARTICIPANTS

Evidence is provided from the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS) that community-dwelling older adults (n=5,403) may be found in each of the ASE Typologies. The discussion is complimented by investigating the cross-sectional predictors of a "Discrepancy Score" (measure of gap between speed and endurance) amongst those with gait speeds < 0.99 m/sec (n=4,521).

RESULTS

Multivariable linear regression results indicate level of severity in speed-endurance discrepancy is higher amongst: non-Latino-Blacks (β=0.48); Latinos (β=0.42); older ages; and lower educated. Models also show that severity in speed-endurance discrepancy is lower amongst: females (β=-0.38); those with higher body mass index; with more chronic health conditions; and poorer self-rated health.

CONCLUSION

Research should continue to investigate how to optimize SRM.