Engagement with consumer smartwatches for tracking symptoms of individuals living with multiple long-term conditions (multimorbidity): A longitudinal observational study.

Syed Mustafa Ali,Katherine Dempsey,Nicola Small,Kazi Khalid,Benjamin Brown,William G Dixon,Elaine Mackey,Peter Bower,Sabine N Van Der Veer,David A Selby,John Mcbeth,Brian Mcmillan

doi:10.1177/26335565211062791

Abstract

IntroductionPeople living with multiple long-term conditions (multimorbidity) (MLTC-M) experience an accumulating combination of different symptoms. It has been suggested that these symptoms can be tracked longitudinally using consumer technology, such as smartphones and wearable devices.AimThe aim of this study was to investigate longitudinal user engagement with a smartwatch application, collecting survey questions and active tasks over 90 days, in people living with MLTC-M.Methods‘Watch Your Steps’ was a prospective observational study, administering multiple questions and active tasks over 90 days. Adults with more than one clinician-diagnosed long-term conditions were loaned Fossil® Sport smartwatches, pre-loaded with the study app. Around 20 questions were prompted per day.Daily completion rates were calculated to describe engagement patterns over time, and to explore how these varied by patient characteristics and question type.ResultsFifty three people with MLTC-M took part in the study. Around half were male ( = 26; 49%) and the majority had a white ethnic background (n = 45; 85%). About a third of participants engaged with the smartwatch app nearly every day. The overall completion rate of symptom questions was 45% inter-quartile range (IQR 23–67%) across all study participants. Older patients and those with greater MLTC-M were more engaged, although engagement was not significantly different between genders.ConclusionIt was feasible for people living with MLTC-M to report multiple symptoms per day over 3 months. User engagement appeared as good as other mobile health studies that recruited people with single health conditions, despite the higher daily data entry burden.

Highlights

People living with multiple long-term conditions (MLTC-M) experience an accumulating combination of different symptoms
People living with MLTC-M have to deal with an accumulating combination of different symptoms – the severity of which varies through time – plus the potential harms of multiple treatments.[7]
We have demonstrated that using a smartwatch for health data collection is feasible and acceptable for individuals living with MLTC-M over a 90-day period

Summary

Introduction

People living with multiple long-term conditions (multimorbidity) (MLTC-M) experience an accumulating combination of different symptoms. People living with MLTC-M have to deal with an accumulating combination of different symptoms – the severity of which varies through time – plus the potential harms of multiple treatments.[7] Managing one health condition can exacerbate another, and the dynamic nature of symptoms makes it difficult to choose an optimal treatment.[8] Much research to date is cross-sectional rather than longitudinal, making it impossible to study temporal changes.[1] Where longitudinal studies do exist, they often measure disease change at widely spaced intervals.[9,10,11]

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Conclusion