Enhancing Enrollment and Adherence in Long-Term Wearable Research on Dementia: Qualitative Systematic Review and Meta-Synthesis.

Background: With the rapid expansion of wearable technologies, there is increased interest in their utility for passive data collection applications in research on aging. Wearables can be beneficial for research with people with dementia and their families, who have burdens that can make both study participation and reliable data collection more difficult, especially as dementia progresses, but their use also has challenges. Population-specific issues affecting the success of wearables for data collection can include remembering to wear a device, fluctuating acceptance of the device or study participation, and reliance on already strained caregivers.

Objective: This study aimed to systematically evaluate contemporary wearables research to describe persons with dementia's experiences with wearables, their desired qualities, and protocol needs to enhance participant buy-in and sustained wearing for better quality dementia research.

Methods: We used the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) 2020 checklist for systematic reviews and searched 3 scholarly databases using Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terms for papers published since 2018 featuring the use or discussion of wearable devices for persons with dementia. We screened 1757 abstracts and retained 58 for full-text review.

Results: We present synthesized preferences, barriers, and facilitators to buy-in and adherence to wearables in dementia research. A total of 29 factors were categorized into 4 overarching categories aligned with study development: device selection, protocol considerations, enhancing recruitment, and promoting adherence.

Conclusions: These findings inform researcher guidelines for wearable device selection and protocol design to enhance the utility of wearables in future longitudinal research featuring persons with dementia and their caregivers.