Designing, Learning, and Adapting in Research

It is the end of our fifth week in Costa Rica; thus, three more weeks to go. Time is going by too fast, especially for the deadline of the completion of our projects. My project is focused on determining some risk factors that cause fall occurrences in older adults. Hopefully, I will also have time to design some strategies to prevent falls in older adults.

As of this week, we have collected data from approximately 55 participants. We used the same protocol; that is, performed lower-body strength tests, agility tests, marching/walking tests, and equilibrium tests.

The protocol for this specific test was to walk at a normal pace three times, and then walk at a faster pace three more times. In some cases, the participant is required to use a walking stick for support, which isn’t a problem. We would simply have to state in the analysis that the participant used a walking stick while performing the tests.

In this visit to Los Guido, I also learned that if something doesn’t go as planned, then one must adapt to succeed. For example, the belts used to maintain the accelerometer in place on the waist did not fit around one participant. Therefore, in order to complete the test, we had to adapt by tightening the belt with tape around his waist. It was quite effective; thus, it was a good decision.

Next week, we plan to complete a study using a focus group. We have already created the protocol and have chosen the figures that will be used as discussion starters regarding risk factors to falls in older adults. This will inform us of the different point of views that each of the participants have about what they think are risk factors that cause falls. However, it will also tell us how they feel about the possibility of falling, which, for some, could be stressful and traumatic.