Studying Falls in Real Life Situations: Coupling Subjective Experience and Biomarkers in the Design of Innovative Methods

Abstract

Complementary to the presentation discussing the use of an onboard system designed to monitor gait in real-life situations, we will show here how the analysis of data from both biosensors and the psychophenomenological evaluation of subjective experience may provide pertinent information about hazardous situations. We will present a methodology that has proven to be successful in demonstrating how behavior emerges during the context of motorcycle riding. Here, our attention will focus more specifically on gait phenomena, balance and falls in patients with Parkinson's disease. The method consists of documenting the whole process (instead of using isolated data) with consideration to details regarding the patient's perspective of the situation in question (self-report, self-awareness, subjective experience). We argue that confronting the data at different levels of activity (which are typically addressed independently of the other) assists to verify, interpret and objectify the observed phenomena.

Keywords: Integrated Approach, Ambulatory Assessment, Human Gait Analysis, Subjective Experience, Ergonomics, Clinical Applications

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe100396