Using Wearable Devices and Smartphones to Track Physical Activity: Initial Activation, Sustained Use, and Step Counts Across Sociodemographic Characteristics in a National Sample
Authors: Mitesh S. Patel, Luca Foschini, Gregory W. Kurtzman, Jingsan Zhu, Wenli Wang, Charles A.L. Rareshide, Susan M. Zbikowski
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2017)

Letters21 November 2017Using Wearable Devices and Smartphones to Track Physical Activity: Initial Activation, Sustained Use, and Step Counts Across Sociodemographic Characteristics in a National SampleMitesh S. Patel, MD, MBA, MS, Luca Foschini, PhD, Gregory W. Kurtzman, BA, Jingsan Zhu, MBA, MS, Wenli Wang, MS, Charles A.L. Rareshide, MS, and Susan M. Zbikowski, PhDMitesh S. Patel, MD, MBA, MSUniversity of Pennsylvania and Crescenz Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (M.S.P.), Luca Foschini, PhDEvidation Health, Santa Barbara, California (L.F.), Gregory W. Kurtzman, BAUniversity of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (G.W.K., J.Z., W.W., C.A.R.), Jingsan Zhu, MBA, MSUniversity of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (G.W.K., J.Z., W.W., C.A.R.), Wenli Wang, MSUniversity of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (G.W.K., J.Z., W.W., C.A.R.), Charles A.L. Rareshide, MSUniversity of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (G.W.K., J.Z., W.W., C.A.R.), and Susan M. Zbikowski, PhDHumana, Seattle, Washington (S.M.Z.)Author, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/M17-1495 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail Background: Interest in using wearable devices and smartphones to monitor daily health behaviors, such as physical activity, is growing (1, 2). Many large employers are using these technologies in workplace wellness programs (3). The precision medicine initiative has described how data collected by these technologies can be used to better target interventions. However, the characteristics of persons who use these devices are poorly understood.Objective: To describe rates of initial use of activity trackers, sustained use after 6 months, and step counts across different sociodemographic characteristics from a wellness program offered across the United States.Methods and Findings: Data on ...References1. Case MA, Burwick HA, Volpp KG, Patel MS. Accuracy of smartphone applications and wearable devices for tracking physical activity data. JAMA. 2015;313:625-6. [PMID: 25668268] doi:10.1001/jama.2014.17841 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar2. Patel MS, Asch DA, Volpp KG. Wearable devices as facilitators, not drivers, of health behavior change. JAMA. 2015;313:459-60. [PMID: 25569175] doi:10.1001/jama.2014.14781 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Towers Watson; National Business Group on Health Employer Survey on Purchasing Value in Health Care. The New Health Care Imperative: Driving Performance, Connecting to Value. Arlington, VA: Towers Watson; 2014. Accessed at www.towerswatson.com/en-US/Insights/IC-Types/Survey-Research-Results/2014/05/full-report-towers-watson-nbgh-2013-2014-employer-survey-on-purchasing-value-in-health-care on 1 August 2017. Google Scholar4. Patel MS, Asch DA, Rosin R, Small DS, Bellamy SL, Heuer J, et al. Framing financial incentives to increase physical activity among overweight and obese adults: a randomized, controlled trial. Ann Intern Med. 2016;164:385-94. [PMID: 26881417]. doi:10.7326/M15-1635 LinkGoogle Scholar5. Patel MS, Benjamin EJ, Volpp KG, Fox CS, Small DS, et al. Effect of a social incentive-based gamification intervention using wearable devices and smartphones on physical activity: the BE FIT randomized clinical trial. Circulation. 2017;135:AP131. CrossrefGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: University of Pennsylvania and Crescenz Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (M.S.P.)Evidation Health, Santa Barbara, California (L.F.)University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (G.W.K., J.Z., W.W., C.A.R.)Humana, Seattle, Washington (S.M.Z.)Disclaimer: Dr. Patel had full access to all the data in the study and takes responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis.Grant Support: By the University of Pennsylvania Health System through the Penn Medicine Nudge Unit. Dr. Patel is supported by career development awards from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Health Services Research and Development Service and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. The funding sources had no role in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript; and decision to submit the manuscript for publication.Disclosures: Disclosures can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=M17-1495.Reproducible Research Statement:Study protocol and statistical code: Available from Dr. Patel (e-mail, [email protected]edu). Data set: Not available.This article was published at Annals.org on 26 September 2017. 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