Dataset Information

Users' experiences of wearable activity trackers: a cross-sectional study.

ABSTRACT: Wearable activity trackers offer considerable promise for helping users to adopt healthier lifestyles. This study aimed to explore users' experience of activity trackers, including usage patterns, sharing of data to social media, perceived behaviour change (physical activity, diet and sleep), and technical issues/barriers to use.A cross-sectional online survey was developed and administered to Australian adults who were current or former activity tracker users. Results were analysed descriptively, with differences between current and former users and wearable brands explored using independent samples t-tests, Mann-Whitney, and chi square tests.Participants included 200 current and 37 former activity tracker users (total N?=?237) with a mean age of 33.1 years (SD 12.4, range 18-74 years). Fitbit (67.5%) and Garmin devices (16.5%) were most commonly reported. Participants typically used their trackers for sustained periods (5-7 months) and most intended to continue usage. Participants reported they had improved their physical activity (51-81%) more commonly than they had their diet (14-40%) or sleep (11-24%), and slightly more participants reported to value the real time feedback (89%) compared to the long-term monitoring (78%). Most users (70%) reported they had experienced functionality issues with their devices, most commonly related to battery life and technical difficulties.Results suggest users find activity trackers appealing and useful tools for increasing perceived physical activity levels over a sustained period.

SUBMITTER: Maher C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5688726 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Users' experiences of wearable activity trackers: a cross-sectional study.

Maher Carol C Ryan Jillian J Ambrosi Christina C Edney Sarah S

BMC public health 20171115 1

<h4>Background</h4>Wearable activity trackers offer considerable promise for helping users to adopt healthier lifestyles. This study aimed to explore users' experience of activity trackers, including usage patterns, sharing of data to social media, perceived behaviour change (physical activity, diet and sleep), and technical issues/barriers to use.<h4>Methods</h4>A cross-sectional online survey was developed and administered to Australian adults who were current or former activity tracker users. ...[more]

PMID: 29141607

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Project description:BackgroundThe range of benefits associated with regular physical activity participation is irrefutable. Despite the well-known benefits, physical inactivity remains one of the major contributing factors to ill-health throughout industrialized countries. Traditional lifestyle interventions such as group education or telephone counseling are effective at increasing physical activity participation; however, physical activity levels tend to decline over time. Consumer-based wearable activity trackers that allow users to objectively monitor activity levels are now widely available and may offer an alternative method for assisting individuals to remain physically active.ObjectiveThis review aimed to determine the effects of interventions utilizing consumer-based wearable activity trackers on physical activity participation and sedentary behavior when compared with interventions that do not utilize activity tracker feedback.MethodsA systematic review was performed searching the following databases for studies that included the use of a consumer-based wearable activity tracker to improve physical activity participation: Cochrane Controlled Register of Trials, MEDLINE, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature, SPORTDiscus, and Health Technology Assessments. Controlled trials of adults comparing the use of a consumer-based wearable activity tracker with other nonactivity tracker-based interventions were included. The main outcome measures were physical activity participation and sedentary behavior. All studies were assessed for risk of bias, and the Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation system was used to rank the quality of evidence. The guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement were followed. A random-effects meta-analysis was completed on the included outcome measures to estimate the treatment effect of interventions that included an activity tracker compared with a control group.ResultsThere was a significant increase in daily step count (standardized mean difference [SMD] 0.24; 95% CI 0.16 to 0.33; P<.001), moderate and vigorous physical activity (SMD 0.27; 95% CI 0.15 to 0.39; P<.001), and energy expenditure (SMD 0.28; 95% CI 0.03 to 0.54; P=.03) and a nonsignificant decrease in sedentary behavior (SMD -0.20; 95% CI -0.43 to 0.03; P=.08) following the intervention versus control comparator across all studies in the meta-analyses. In general, included studies were at low risk of bias, except for performance bias. Heterogeneity varied across the included meta-analyses ranging from low (I2=3%) for daily step count through to high (I2=67%) for sedentary behavior.ConclusionsUtilizing a consumer-based wearable activity tracker as either the primary component of an intervention or as part of a broader physical activity intervention has the potential to increase physical activity participation. As the effects of physical activity interventions are often short term, the inclusion of a consumer-based wearable activity tracker may provide an effective tool to assist health professionals to provide ongoing monitoring and support.

Project description:BackgroundWearable devices permit the continuous, unobtrusive collection of data from children in their natural environments and can transform our understanding of child development. Although the use of wearable devices has begun to emerge in research involving children, few studies have considered families' experiences and perspectives of participating in research of this kind.ObjectiveThrough a mixed methods approach, we assessed parents' and children's experiences of using a new wearable device in the home environment. The wearable device was designed specifically for use with infants and young children, and it integrates audio, electrocardiogram, and motion sensors.MethodsIn study 1, semistructured phone interviews were conducted with 42 parents of children aged 1 month to 9.5 years who completed 2 day-long recordings using the device, which the children wore on a specially designed shirt. In study 2, a total of 110 parents of children aged 2 months to 5.5 years responded to a questionnaire assessing their experience of completing 3 day-long device recordings in the home. Guided by the Digital Health Checklist, we assessed parental responses from both studies in relation to the following three key domains: (1) access and usability, (2) privacy, and (3) risks and benefits.ResultsIn study 1, most parents viewed the device as easy to use and safe and remote visits as convenient. Parents' views on privacy related to the audio recordings were more varied. The use of machine learning algorithms (vs human annotators) in the analysis of the audio data, the ability to stop recordings at any time, and the view that the recordings reflected ordinary family life were some reasons cited by parents who expressed minimal, if any, privacy concerns. Varied risks and benefits were also reported, including perceived child comfort or discomfort, the need to adjust routines to accommodate the study, the understanding gained from the study procedures, and the parent's and child's enjoyment of study participation. In study 2, parents' ratings on 5 close-ended items yielded a similar pattern of findings. Compared with a "neutral" rating, parents were significantly more likely to agree that (1) device instructions were helpful and clear (t109=-45.98; P<.001), (2) they felt comfortable putting the device on their child (t109=-22.22; P<.001), and (3) they felt their child was safe while wearing the device (t109=-34.48; P<.001). They were also less likely to worry about the audio recordings gathered by the device (t108=6.14; P<.001), whereas parents' rating of the burden of the study procedures did not differ significantly from a "neutral" rating (t109=-0.16; P=.87).ConclusionsOn the basis of parents' feedback, several concrete changes can be implemented to improve this new wearable platform and, ultimately, parents' and children's experiences of using child wearable devices in the home setting.

Project description:BackgroundThere are early indications that lifestyle behaviors, specifically physical activity and sleep, may be associated with the onset and progression of Huntington disease (HD). Wearable activity trackers offer an exciting opportunity to collect long-term activity data to further investigate the role of lifestyle, physical activity, and sleep in disease modification. Given how wearable devices rely on user acceptance and long-term adoption, it is important to understand users' perspectives on how acceptable any device might be and how users might engage over the longer term.ObjectiveThis study aimed to explore the perceptions, motivators, and potential barriers relating to the adoption of wearable activity trackers by people with HD for monitoring and managing their lifestyle and sleep. This information intended to guide the selection of wearable activity trackers for use in a longitudinal observational clinical study.MethodsWe conducted a mixed methods study; this allowed us to draw on the potential strengths of both quantitative and qualitative methods. Opportunistic participant recruitment occurred at 4 Huntington's Disease Association meetings, including 1 international meeting and 3 United Kingdom-based regional meetings. Individuals with HD, their family members, and carers were invited to complete a user acceptance questionnaire and participate in a focus group discussion. The questionnaire consisted of 35 items across 8 domains using a 0 to 4 Likert scale, along with some additional demographic questions. Average questionnaire responses were recorded as positive (score>2.5), negative (score<1.5), or neutral (score between 1.5 and 2.5) opinions for each domain. Differences owing to demographics were explored using the Kruskal-Wallis and Wilcoxon rank sum tests. Focus group discussions (conducted in English) were driven by a topic guide, a vignette scenario, and an item ranking exercise. The discussions were audio recorded and then analyzed using thematic analysis.ResultsA total of 105 completed questionnaires were analyzed (47 people with HD and 58 family members or carers). All sections of the questionnaire produced median scores >2.5, indicating a tendency toward positive opinions on wearable activity trackers, such as the devices being advantageous, easy and enjoyable to use, and compatible with lifestyle and users being able to understand the information from trackers and willing to wear them. People with HD reported a more positive attitude toward wearable activity trackers than their family members or caregivers (P=.02). A total of 15 participants participated in 3 focus groups. Device compatibility and accuracy, data security, impact on relationships, and the ability to monitor and self-manage lifestyle behaviors have emerged as important considerations in device use and user preferences.ConclusionsAlthough wearable activity trackers were broadly recognized as acceptable for both monitoring and management, various aspects of device design and functionality must be considered to promote acceptance in this clinical cohort.

Dataset Information

Users' experiences of wearable activity trackers: a cross-sectional study.

Publications

Users' experiences of wearable activity trackers: a cross-sectional study.

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