The use of a wearable camera to explore daily functioning of older adults living with persistent pain: Methodological reflections and recommendations

Background:

Persistent pain is prevalent within the ageing population and impacts daily functioning. Measuring daily functioning using conventional measures is problematic and novel technologies offer an alternative way of observing these behaviours.

Methods:

This study aimed to consider the use of a wearable camera as a method of exploring a range of day-to-day patterns of functioning of older adults living with persistent pain. This study followed a mixed methods design. A purposive sample of 13 older adults (65±) with persistent pain (pain >3 months) took part in this study. Two younger adults (<65) with persistent pain and two older adults with no pain also participated. Individuals used a wearable camera (Microsoft SenseCam) for seven days.

Results:

The wearable camera recorded the frequency of body position, movement, and activities of daily living. The wearable camera also presented contextual data of location, social interactions, use of assistive devices, and behavioural adaptations and was used to inform other methods of data collection.

Conclusions:

The wearable camera allowed insight into patterns and experiences of daily functioning that would not have otherwise been captured. However, not all aspects of functioning were recorded using the wearable camera, including the relationship between functioning and persistent pain.