A research on the perceptions of individuals and health professionals about the wearable technologies used in healthcare services

Abstract

The aim of this study is to provide information about wearable technologies used in healthcare services, to make a literature review about the accuracy of data obtained from these technologies, and to reveal the perceptions of individuals and healthcare professionals about using of wearable technologies in healthcare services. In this context, firstly, the literature regarding the wearable technologies used in health services and the accuracy of the data obtained from them were examined. Then, an online questionnaire was prepared by the researchers regarding the usage levels of wearable and traditional digital technologies and the accuracy of the data obtained from these technologies. The sample of the study consisted of 439 participants, 137 of whom were healthcare professionals. According to the results, 64.9% of the participants used smart phones to monitor their health indicators. Only, 9.6% of participants reported that they used smart watches while 9.8% of participants reported that they used smart wristband. 65% of the healthcare professionals recommended traditional digital devices to their clients for monitoring their health indicators. 82.5% of the healthcare professionals reported that they would trust more the data obtained from pulse while only 5.1 of the healthcare professionals reported that they would not trust the data obtained from traditional digital devices nor wearable devices. The responses of the participants regarding the usage of wearable technologies and digital devices were differed significantly according to participants' profession, education, and age groups (p