Smartphone-Based Digital Coaching for Fall Prevention and Research Training in Stroke Survivors - Project Summary/Abstract Falls are one of the most serious complications for stroke survivors, often leading to injury, loss of independence, and costly hospitalizations. While current assessments can identify individuals at risk, there is a critical gap in translating that knowledge into practical, accessible interventions for everyday life. This project aims to develop and evaluate a smartphone-based digital coaching system designed to support safer mobility and reduce fall risk in stroke survivors. Our specific Aims in this project are: 1. Develop and optimize a smartphone-based coaching platform. The app will provide personalized reminders, exercise prompts, and safety guidance, co-designed with stroke survivors, caregivers, and physical therapists to ensure relevance, usability, and accessibility. 2. Pilot-test feasibility, usability, and acceptability in community-dwelling stroke survivors. A short-term pilot study (N≈40) will assess user adherence, satisfaction, and barriers to adoption, with emphasis on participants with limited access to ongoing rehabilitation support who may lack consistent access to rehabilitation resources. Impact: This project will deliver: 1) A prototype digital coaching tool for fall prevention in stroke survivors. 2) Pilot data on feasibility, usability, and implementation considerations. 3) Enhanced research capacity at Rochester Institute of Technology by embedding students in all phases of design, testing, and analysis. Student Training: The project directly supports the NIH SuRE mission by creating hands-on training opportunities for undergraduate, master’s, and PhD students. Students will gain experience in app development, usability testing, human-subject research, and data analysis. This layered mentoring model will provide undergraduates early exposure, master’s students deeper technical roles, and a PhD student continuity across Years 2–3, building a sustainable research pipeline. Relevance to NIH and NIGMS: The study is independent of any ongoing projects and represents a modest, achievable step toward scalable interventions for stroke survivors. It aligns with the National Institute of General Medical Sciences’ focus on biomedical research capacity building, workforce development, and hands-on student research training.
