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Background: Older adults, particularly those with physical and cognitive impairments, are typically under-recruited in clinical trials, despite the fact that they experience the greatest need for healthcare services. Reasons for underrepresentation are disparate but may relate to comorbidities, communication difficulties (eg hearing and vision impairments) and physical immobility that constrains transportation to a research site. Remote trials supported by mobile and wearable health technologies have the potential to make clinical research participation more accessible for these groups. In order to determine the feasibility of this model, it is essential to understand the burden remote data collection places on the participants involved.

Objective: The REACHES study (Remote Assessment of Older People in a Care Home Setting) explored the burden experienced by participants in a remote trial supported by mobile and wearable technology in a care home setting.

Methods: The remote trial focused on implementing a falls prevention programme in a single care home over an eight-week period from March to May 2017. The following technological solutions were selected to support the activities of the trial: QTUG™(Kinesis Health Technologies, Ireland), a sensor-based medical device that assesses gait, mobility, falls risk and frailty; Aging Research App (ICON Clinical Research, Ireland in partnership with mPROVE Health, US), a tablet version of the Age-Related Muscle Loss Questionnaire that assesses the impact of muscle loss on activities of daily living; and vívosmart® HR (Garmin Ltd., US) a wrist-worn device that tracks daily activity, heart rate and sleep …