JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

As people age, their physical capacities (e.g., walking, balance) decline and the risk of falling rises. Yet the classic fall detection devices are poorly accepted by older adults. Since they often wear eyeglasses as they go about their daily activities, daily monitoring to detect and prevent falls with smart eyeglasses might be more easily accepted.

Objective:

Based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology-2 (UTAUT2), this study evaluated (1) the acceptability of smart eyeglasses for the detection and prevention of falls by older adults and (2) the associations with selected fall-related functional physical capacities.

Methods:

One hundred and forty-two volunteer older adults (mean age 74.9 years, SD 6.5 years) completed the UTAUT2 questionnaire adapted for smart eyeglasses and then performed several physical tests: unipodal balance test with eyes open and closed, 10-meter walk test, and 6-minute walk test. An unsupervised analysis classified the participants into physical performance groups. MANOVAs were run to identify differences in acceptability constructs according to the performance group.

Results:

The UTAUT2 questionnaire adapted for eyeglasses presented good psychometric properties. Performance expectancy (β=.21, P=.005), social influence (β=.18, P=.007), facilitating conditions (β=.17, P=.037) and habit (β=.40, P<.001) were significant contributors to the behavioral intention to use smart eyeglasses (R²=.73). The unsupervised analysis based on fall-related functional physical capacities created three groups of physical performance: low, intermediate, and high. Effort expectancy was lower in the low performance group (M=3.99, SD=1.46) compared to the other two groups (i.e., intermediate: M=4.68, SD=1.23; high: M=5.09, SD=1.41). Facilitating conditions was higher in the high-performance group (M=5.39, SD=1.39) than in the other two groups (i.e., low: M=4.31, SD=1.68; intermediate: M=4.66, SD=1.51).

Conclusions:

To our knowledge, this study is the first to examine the acceptability of smart eyeglasses in the context of fall detection and prevention in older adults and to associate acceptability with fall-related functional physical capacities. The older adults with higher physical performances, and possibly lower risks of falling, reported greater acceptability of smart eyeglasses for fall prevention and detection than their counterparts exhibiting low physical performances.