Meaningful use of activity trackers in healthcare: Towards a personalised use in people with a chronic disease and older adults

Healthcare professionals are advised by to measure the physical activity level of their patients, often older adults with or without chronic diseases. Currently, physical activity is often measured with questionnaires and diaries however, their validity and feasibility are limited. Activity trackers could be a meaningful addition since they seem to measure more validly and seem to be feasible. However, until now not much is known about the use of activity trackers in health care. This dissertation aims to increase the knowledge about the meaningful use of activity trackers in healthcare for (older) adults with our without chronic diseases. This was achieved by studying the validity and feasibility of commercially available activity trackers, by (re)developing an activity tracker (the MISS Activity) targeted at people who reach their level of activity by activities of daily living instead of running or walking, including older adults with or without chronic diseases, and by implementing an activity tracker in healthcare.