JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Background:

With age-related physiological changes of older adults, there is a rapid decline in motor exercise ability, and some older adults may experience difficulties in maintaining focus and memory loss in their daily lives, as well as a decline in reaction time, which consequently impairs their ability to perform tasks requiring dual tasking. Motor-cognitive training(M-CT) refers to a blend of motor activity and cognitive training that occurs simultaneously, that can assist older adults in enhancing their physical function, cognitive abilities, and dual-task (DT) performance. In recent years, the use of technology for delivering M-CT has become increasingly popular in research. This has been achieved through various technologies and devices that simplify M-CTs for older adults.

Objective:

Objectives: To systematically examine the feasibility and effectiveness studies on technology-assisted M-CT among older adults.

Methods:

Methods:

This rapid review was conducted following the updated Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Standard 2020, and the Synthesis without meta-analysis in systematic reviews: reporting guideline. Four databases were searched, including CINAHL, Embase, PubMed, and Scopus for published effectiveness studies within January 2013 to Jan 2025. Search strategies were constructed based on three main topics: (1) older adults, (2) M-CT, and (3) technology. Inclusion criteria followed the PICOS framework as follows: Population- studies that reported participants were older adults; Intervention- technology-assisted M-CT; Comparator- standard treatment control, active control, partial intervention control, placebo control, and dose-response control; Outcome- a variety of measures of physical, cognitive, and DT performance, and Study design- Randomized controlled trials (RCT), and pilot RCT. The Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool for Randomized Trials for RCTs was applied for quality appraisal of included studies. The feasibility of the included studies was assessed using completion rates and attrition rates. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the demographic and clinical characteristics of the groups, while narrative methods were employed to categorize and synthesize the effectiveness. This rapid review was registered on the Open Science Framework, the DOI was https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/5SRCQ, and the link was https://osf.io/5srcq.

Results:

Results:

Twenty studies were included, comprising 16 Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) and 4 pilot RCTs. Most of which were conducted within a 6-week period. Each session typically lasted between 10-30 minutes and was held 2-3 times/week. Feasibility analysis showed that technology-assisted M-CT was generally feasible. While the workload was high, the perceived usability was also high, with a significant amount of positive feedback and very few reported adverse events. The M-CTs varied in terms of components, duration, and frequency. The majority studies (18/20) demonstrated statistically significant improvements in physical, cognitive, and DT performances because of technology-assisted M-CT.

Conclusions:

Conclusions:

It systematically examined the feasibility and effectiveness of technology-assisted M-CT among older adults.