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Posts by kamilako (10)

NEW PUBLICATION: How community-dwelling older adults use positive coping strategies to manage fof

February 10, 2026 by Mila Kolpashnikova

Project: Fear of Falling, March 2022 ~

Abstract

Background

Older adults often experience fear of falling (FoF). Falls and FoF impose significant costs on both individuals and the healthcare system. As a result, a wide range of interventions has been developed to prevent them, and much recent research has focused on evaluating the effectiveness of these interventions. However, evidence suggests that community-dwelling older adults also develop individual coping strategies, which remain understudied. This study aims to address this gap by identifying the coping strategies older adults develop and employ in their daily lives.

Methods

We conducted 13 semi-structured verbal protocol interviews with older people residing in Canada. Our sample consisted of individuals living in an urban area, either with family members or alone. Participants were aged 55 and older and had experienced at least one fall in the past several years. We analyzed the data using the thematic qualitative data analysis approach. Then, we categorized the identified themes according to an existing conceptual framework. At the final stage, we conducted a co-occurrence analysis to explore the coping strategies that are interconnected.

Results

The analysis of the interview data identified positive individual coping strategies developed by older adults in their everyday lives. These strategies were classified into six main categories, including activity adaptation, social support, environmental modification, psychological resilience, health and wellness strategies, and use of supportive devices. We also found that older adults often use multiple coping strategies simultaneously. The most common combination includes activity adaptation and social support coping strategies, reflecting both individuals’ personal agency and their reliance on social networks to prevent fear of falling and falls.

Conclusions

These findings suggest that seniors use a variety of coping strategies and often apply several of them simultaneously. The results can inform the development of devices and awareness campaigns aimed at reducing fear of falling and preventing falls.

NEW PUBLICATION: Multi-modal detection of acute fear of falling in older adults: A proof-of-concept

February 10, 2026 by Mila Kolpashnikova

Project: Fear of Falling, March 2022 ~

Abstract

Fear of falling in older adults is generally studied as a chronic condition, yet spikes in acute fear of falling remain underexplored, despite previous research showing that they often precipitate falls. This work introduces a multi-modal sensor-based framework for detecting theoretically defined 'potential fear of falling' by combining gaze elevation and heart rate signals captured from wearable eye tracking and wrist devices in older adults living in the community. We trained five conventional classifiers (logistic regression, KNN, random forest, XGBoost, CatBoost), optimized for minority class F1, and combined two ensembles: (1) random forest + CatBoost + KNN and (2) random forest + logistic regression + KNN. We also applied spectrogram-based transfer learning by fine-tuning the pre-trained VGG16 and ResNet50 models on accelerometer data. In the individual-classifier analysis, XGBoost, KNN, and random forest achieved ROC AUC = 0.99 and minority-class F1 of 0.93, 0.90, and 0.85, respectively. The ensemble models performed better than individual classifiers on multi-modal and accelerometer-only inputs, though overall performance remained modest without multi-modal signals in the latter case (minority-class F1 = 0.39). Transfer models outperformed ensembles. These results demonstrate that ensemble and spectrogram-based transfer learning models provide robust, high-sensitivity detection of potential acute fear of falling in multi-modal signals. This work lays the foundation for future studies to explore acute fear of falling biomarkers in larger cohorts and paves the way for personalized fall prevention interventions in everyday settings.


Link

NEW PUBLICATION: Revisiting the STEM Acronym: Toward Conceptual Clarity

August 7, 2025 by Mila Kolpashnikova

Project: Gender Inequality in Retirement

Abstract

We revisit how science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) has been defined, showing that ambiguity continues to complicate our understanding of the concept. Given the widespread use of the STEM acronym, one might assume its meaning was consistent and clear. We demonstrate, however, in four inter-related ways, that STEM’s meaning remains poorly focused and, subsequently, inconsistently applied. We show that the origin story of STEM is contested, that various related acronyms now vie for attention, that operational definitions of STEM are scattered, and that certain STEM-related policy initiatives need more nuance. As evidence for the latter two claims, we rely on a systematic audit of Canadian higher education research on STEM and on a longitudinal review of the gender balance among STEM university graduates. A reconceptualization of STEM’s focus is especially critical, as inconsistency in the acronym’s meaning clouds how research findings can be translated into policy. Policy decisions need to be properly grounded in reproducible evidence. Replication matters to good science and weak definition hampers reproducibility.

Link here

About

The HEFT Lab advances social research in health, equity, family, and technology. Committed to ethical and objective studies, we aim to inform policymakers, fellow researchers, and communities, contributing to evidence-based policies and positive societal change. Join us for insights, findings, and meaningful discussions.

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