Augmenting K-means Clustering with Qualitative Data to Discover Engagement Patterns of Older Adults with Multimorbidity when using Digital Health Technologies: Findings from a Proof-of-Concept Trial
Citation:
Sheng Y., Doyle J., Bond R., Jaiswal R., Dinsmore J, Augmenting K-means Clustering with Qualitative Data to Discover Engagement Patterns of Older Adults with Multimorbidity when using Digital Health Technologies: Findings from a Proof-of-Concept Trial, Journal of Medical Internet Research, 2024, 1 - 23Download Item:
Abstract:
Background: Multiple chronic conditions (multimorbidity) are becoming more prevalent among aging populations. Digital health technologies have the potential to assist in the self-management of multimorbidity, improving the awareness and monitoring of health and well-being, supporting a better understanding of the disease, and encouraging behavior change.
Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze how 60 older adults (mean age 74, SD 6.4; range 65-92 years) with multimorbidity engaged with digital symptom and well-being monitoring when using a digital health platform over a period of approximately 12 months.
Methods: Principal component analysis and clustering analysis were used to group participants based on their levels of engagement, and the data analysis focused on characteristics (eg, age, sex, and chronic health conditions), engagement outcomes, and symptom outcomes of the different clusters that were discovered.
Results: Three clusters were identified: the typical user group, the least engaged user group, and the highly engaged user group. Our findings show that age, sex, and the types of chronic health conditions do not influence engagement. The 3 primary factors influencing engagement were whether the same device was used to submit different health and well-being parameters, the number of manual operations required to take a reading, and the daily routine of the participants. The findings also indicate that higher levels of engagement may improve the participants' outcomes (eg, reduce symptom exacerbation and increase physical activity).
Conclusions: The findings indicate potential factors that influence older adult engagement with digital health technologies for home-based multimorbidity self-management. The least engaged user groups showed decreased health and well-being outcomes related to multimorbidity self-management. Addressing the factors highlighted in this study in the design and implementation of home-based digital health technologies may improve symptom management and physical activity outcomes for older adults self-managing multimorbidity.
Sponsor
Grant Number
European Commission
945449
European Commission
689996
Author's Homepage:
http://people.tcd.ie/dinsmorjDescription:
PUBLISHED
Author: Dinsmore, John
Sponsor:
European CommissionEuropean Commission
Type of material:
Journal ArticleSeries/Report no:
Journal of Medical Internet Research;Availability:
Full text availableSubject (TCD):
Ageing , Digital Engagement , Next Generation Medical Devices , AGEING , Chronic Illness , Chronic Illness self-management , Digital Health , Health psychology , multimorbidityDOI:
https://doi.org/10.2196/46287Metadata
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