To better understand the impact of visitor restrictions on nursing home residents and their families as well as strategies and actions that were conducted in nursing homes during the COVID-19 pande...

Background: Polysomnography is the gold standard for measuring and detecting sleep patterns. In recent years, activity wristbands have become popular because they record continuous data in real time. Hence, comprehensive validation studies are needed to analyze the performance and reliability of these devices in the recording of sleep parameters. Objective: This study compared the performance of one of the best-selling activity wristbands, the Xiaomi Mi Band 5, against polysomnography in measuring sleep stages. Methods: This study was carried out at a hospital in A Coruña, Spain. People who were participating in a polysomnography study at a sleep unit were recruited to wear a Xiaomi Mi Band 5 simultaneously for 1 night. The total sample consisted of 45 adults, 25 (56%) with sleep disorders (SDis) and 20 (44%) without SDis. Results: Overall, the Xiaomi Mi Band 5 displayed 78% accuracy, 89% sensitivity, 35% specificity, and a Cohen κ value of 0.22. It significantly overestimated polysomnography total sleep time (P=.09), light sleep (N1+N2 stages of non–rapid eye movement [REM] sleep; P=.005), and deep sleep (N3 stage of non-REM sleep; P=.01). In addition, it underestimated polysomnography wake after sleep onset and REM sleep. Moreover, the Xiaomi Mi Band 5 performed better in people without sleep problems than in those with sleep problems, specifically in detecting total sleep time and deep sleep. Conclusions: The Xiaomi Mi Band 5 can be potentially used to monitor sleep and to detect changes in sleep patterns, especially for people without sleep problems. However, additional studies are necessary with this activity wristband in people with different types of SDis. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04568408; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04568408 International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID): RR2-10.3390/ijerph18031106

The use and deployment of mobile devices across society is phenomenal with an increasing number of individuals using mobile devices to track their everyday health. However, there is a paucity of academic material examining this recent trend. Specifically, little is known about the use and deployment of mobile heart monitoring devices for measuring palpitations and arrhythmia. In this scoping literature review, we identify the contemporary evidence that reports the use of mobile heart monitoring to assess palpitations and arrhythmia across populations. The review was conducted between February and March 2018. Five electronic databases were searched: Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), CINHAL, Google Scholar, PubMed, and Scopus. A total of 981 records were identified and, following the inclusion and exclusion criteria, nine papers formed the final stage of the review. The results identified a total of six primary themes: purpose, environment, population, wearable devices, assessment, and study design. A further 24 secondary themes were identified across the primary themes. These included detection, cost effectiveness, recruitment, type of setting, type of assessment, and commercial or purpose-built mobile device. This scoping review highlights that further work is required to understand the impact of mobile heart monitoring devices on how arrhythmias and palpitations are assessed and measured across all populations and ages of society. A positive trend revealed by this review demonstrates how mobile heart monitoring devices can support primary care providers to deliver high levels of care at a low cost to the service provider. This has several benefits: alleviation of patient anxiety, lowering the risk of morbidity and mortality, while progressively influencing national and international care pathway guidelines. Limitations of this work include the paucity of knowledge and insight from primary care providers and lack of qualitative material. We argue that future studies consider qualitative and mixed methods approaches to complement quantitative methodologies and to ensure all actors’ experiences are recorded.

Introduction: Falls are the second leading cause of accidental or non-intentional deaths worldwide and are the most common problem as people age. The primary purpose of addressing falls is to detect, prevent, treat, and reduce their incidence and consequences. Previous studies identified that multifactorial programs, an interprofessional team, and assistive technology are required to address falls in older adults effectively. Accordingly, the research question is as follows: what are the scope, type of studies, and approaches and strategies to fall risk using technology in the existing occupational therapy literature regarding interventions to address the effects of falls in older adults on daily living? Methods: This scoping review was carried out in January 2020 through Biblioteca Virtual de Salud España, C.I.N.A.H.L., Cochrane Plus, OTSeeker, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. Results: Twelve papers were included. We analyzed the year and journal of publication, authors’ affiliation, and design of the study, and thematic categories. There were three themes: participants’ characteristics, type of intervention, and fall approach and type of technology used. Discussion and Conclusions: The literature obtained is scarce. It is considered to still be an emerging theme, especially when considering the use of technology for occupational therapy.

(1) Background: Sleep disorders are a common problem for public health since they are considered potential triggers and predictors of some mental and physical diseases. Evaluating the sleep quality of a person may be a first step to prevent further health issues that diminish their independence and quality of life. Polysomnography (PSG) is the “gold standard” for sleep studies, but this technique presents some drawbacks. Thus, this study intends to assess the capability of the new Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 5 to be used as a tool for sleep self-assessment. (2) Methods: This study will be an observational and prospective study set at the sleep unit of a hospital in A Coruña, Spain. Forty-three participants who meet the inclusion criteria will be asked to participate. Specific statistical methods will be used to analyze the data collected using the Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 5 and PSG. (3) Discussion: This study offers a promising approach to assess whether the Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 5 correctly records our sleep. Even though these devices are not expected to replace PSG, they may be used as an initial evaluation tool for users to manage their own sleep quality and, if necessary, consult a health professional. Further, the device may help users make simple changes to their habits to improve other health issues as well. Trial registration: NCT04568408 (Registered 23 September 2020).

Background: Presently the use of technological devices such as wearable devices has emerged. Physical activity monitoring with wearable sensors is an easy and non-intrusive approach to encourage preventive care for older adults. It may be useful to follow a continuous assessment of the risk of falling. The objective is to explore the relationship between the daily activity measured by Xiaomi Mi Band 2 and the risk of falling of older adults residing in or attending care facilities. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on three different institutions located in Galicia (autonomous community) (Spain). Results: A total of 31 older adults were included in the study, with a mean age of 84 ± 8.71 years old. The main findings obtained were that a greater number of steps and distance could be related to a lower probability of falling, of dependency in basic activities of daily living, or of mobility problems. Conclusions: The importance of focusing on daily steps, intrinsically related to the objective assessment of daily physical activity, is that it is a modifiable factor that impacts different aspects of health and quality of life.