Using mobile health to encourage physical activity in individuals with intellectual disability: a pilot mixed methods feasibility study.
Henriette Michalsen, André Henriksen, Gunn Pettersen and 5 others
PMID 37691911WHAT IT FOUND
Nine adults with intellectual disability completed a 12-week goal-setting app trial.
Recruitment was low and objective step counts were missing for many. Participants liked the structure, but staff often lacked information. This tests feasibility, not whether the apps increase activity.
Key findings
01Only nine of seventy-four invited individuals were included, and objective step data was missing for a large portion of participants at follow-up.
02The intervention did not produce a statistically significant overall increase in steps per day from baseline to follow-up.
03Qualitative feedback indicated that shift-working staff often did not receive information about the project, which limited the use of the apps.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The sample size was very small (nine participants), so the results cannot be generalized to the wider population of individuals with intellectual disability. Recruitment was low, with only 16% of invited people consenting, which may indicate a selection bias toward those already interested in physical activity. Objective physical activity data was missing for many participants at follow-up, and wear-time was not recorded, so it is unclear if the trackers accurately measured activity. The study did not measure how much time participants actually spent using the apps, so the relationship between app usage and activity outcomes is unknown. Most participants had moderate intellectual disability and were female, limiting the applicability of findings to those with severe disabilities or to males.
Declared interests
The developers of the Active Leisure app were close family members of individuals with intellectual disability. The organization Smart Cognition AS, which provided the platform, is a non-profit business. The study was part of a project aimed at developing these apps.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the high retention rate and positive qualitative feedback as evidence that the mobile apps effectively increased physical activity. The primary objective measure, steps per day, showed no significant change, and data was missing for many participants. This study only demonstrates that the intervention was feasible to attempt, not that it works.