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Lookup NU author(s): Professor Lynn RochesterORCiD
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
© The Author(s) 2026.Digital mobility outcomes (DMOs) offer unique insights into recovery of real-world mobility after proximal femoral fracture (PFF), but their clinical validity remains to be established. This study assessed construct validity (convergent, divergent, and known-groups) of 24 DMOs measuring walking activity (amount, pattern) and gait (pace, rhythm, bout-to-bout variability) in patients within one year after PFF. Patients were recruited from inpatient and outpatient lists at five European sites, resulting in 505 included participants (66% female), with mean age of 77.6 ± 9.4 years and supervised gait speed of 0.7 ± 0.4 m/s. Mobility was monitored over seven days using a single wearable device on the lower back. Convergent and divergent validity analyses were stratified by two groups: acute (≤ 14 days since surgery) and non-acute (≥ 15 days since surgery). Correlations between DMOs and related (clinical- and patient-reported mobility outcomes) and unrelated constructs (hearing impairment and systolic blood pressure) were compared to a priori expected correlations. Known-groups validity was assessed across four recovery phases. The results were evaluated individually by experts and in a subsequent consensus meeting, with 17 of 24 DMOs showing evidence of construct validity in non-acute PFF patients. These findings represent an initial step in a larger process towards regulatory endorsement.
Author(s): Eckert T, Berge MA, Long M, de las Heras M, Alvarez P, Blain H, Braun J, Buekers J, Caulfield B, Engdal M, Frei A, Helbostad JL, Ionescu A, Jansen C-P, Johnsen LG, Klenk J, Koch S, Lanfranchi V, Rochester L, Becker C, Vereijken B, Garcia-Aymerich J
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Scientific Reports
Year: 2026
Volume: 16
Issue: 1
Online publication date: 20/03/2026
Acceptance date: 03/03/2026
Date deposited: 14/04/2026
ISSN (electronic): 2045-2322
Publisher: Nature Research
URL: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-43297-y
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-026-43297-y
Data Access Statement: The data presented in this paper was generated during the IMI2 Mobilise-D project. The dataset from this project will be released under a C.C.4.0 NC license in June 2026 at https://zenodo.org/communities/mobilise-d/ according to the data release schedule agreed by the Mobilise-D consortium. Please direct any data-related queries to: Brian CaulfieldEmail: b.caulfield@ucd.ie.
PubMed id: 41862587
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