Lifespace metrics of older adults with mild cognitive impairment and dementia recorded via geolocation data

Objective: Lifespace, the physical area in which someone conducts life activities, indicates lived community mobility. This study explored the feasibility of technology-based lifespace measurement for older people with dementia and mild cognitive impairment (MCI), including the generation of a range of lifespace metrics, and investigation of relationships with health and mobility status. Methods: An exploratory study was conducted within a longitudinal observational study. Eighteen older adults (mean age 86.7 years (SD: 3.2); 8 men; 15 MCI), participated. Lifespace metrics were generated from geolocation data (GPS and Bluetooth beacon) collected through a smartphone application for one week (2015–2016). Cognitive and mobility-related outcomes were compared from study data sets at baseline (2005–2007) and 6-year follow-up (2011–2014). Results: Lifespace data could be collected from all participants, and metrics were generated including percentage of time at home, maximum distance from home, episodes of travel in a week, days in a week participants left home, lifespace area (daily, weekly and total), indoor lifespace (regions in the home/hour), and a developed lifespace score that combined time, frequency of travel, distance and area. Results indicated a large range of lifespace areas (0.1 – 97.88 km²; median 6.77 km²) with similar patterns across lifespace metrics. Significant relationships were found between lifespace metrics and concurrent driving status and anteceding scores on the sit-to-stand test (at baseline and follow-up). Conclusions: Further longitudinal exploration of lifespace is required to develop an understanding of the nature of lifespace of older community-dwelling people, and its relationship with health, mobility and well-being outcomes.