Research

Real-Time Mobile Assessment of Daily Functioning Among Older HIV-Infected Adults

Agency: NIH/NIMH
Agency Award Number: K23 MH107260

Rates of functional impairments are high among persons living with HIV, and older HIV-infected persons are particularly vulnerable to impairments in daily functioning. Current standard-of-practice methods of functional assessments are unable to capture the combination of risk and protective factors impacting functioning, nor do they assess day-to-day variability in daily functioning, at the intersection of HIV and aging. It is important to develop better functioning assessment methods, which can pave the way for the development of personalized interventions to improve functioning. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to use a mobile technology-based method, called Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA; administered via smartphones) to: 1) accurately identify the kinds of daily activities older HIV+ adults engage in and how they appraise their success in these activities, 2) identify which patients are at the greatest risk for poor functioning (e.g., those with poorest cognition), which will help us identify patients with the greatest need for clinical services, and 3) test psychological mechanisms (e.g., depressed mood) that might be driving daily fluctuations in functioning.