Project Grant R03AG095709

The National Institute on Aging awarded Hebrew Rehabilitation Center $318,000 on August 18, 2026, under the Aging Research program (CFDA 93.866) to conduct a pilot study of home-based dual-task gait assessment in older adults at risk of dementia.

The project will recruit 60 ambulatory adults aged 65 and older—30 with mild cognitive impairment and 30 age- and sex-matched controls—to use a smartphone-based gait application for daily assessments in their homes over a two-week baseline period, followed by weekly assessments for one year. Participants will complete comprehensive lab-based functional assessments evaluating health history, cognitive function, mobility, and factors influencing gait, and will report falls and injuries via the application. Follow-up phone interviews will occur when falls are reported. The study addresses the elevated fall risk in older adults with mild cognitive impairment, which accelerates cognitive decline and increases risk of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. Existing clinical gait assessments conducted annually in clinical settings fail to capture real-time changes signaling acute increases in fall likelihood. Two specific aims will quantify day-to-day variation in normal and dual-task gait performance (walking while performing verbalized serial subtractions) during the baseline period and then track gait performance changes over the following year to identify patterns associated with acute fall risk.

Work is performed in Roslindale, Massachusetts. The period of performance runs from August 18, 2026, through July 31, 2028.