Personal Health Behaviors Research Articles

IT-based regulation of personal health: Nudging, mobile apps and data

Mobile health applications and devices (“mobile health apps”) play increasingly important roles in the lives of individuals interested in self-regulating their personal health behaviors. While some appear to be simply consumer products and services, many are embedded in regulatory programs aimed at compliance with expert guidelines. In this paper, we draw on de Vaujany et al.’s framework for organizational IT-based regulation systems to consider how systems operate in open and distributed contexts in which actors have strong agency and regulation is indirect and voluntary. To do so, we consider how IT artifacts become embedded in practices, how data are implicated in regulatory feedback loops, and how individual, organizational and technological actors are mobilized and with what regulatory outcomes. We develop an instrumental case study as a vignette of five regulatory episodes (continuous glucose monitoring systems used by persons with diabetes) to examine how expert rules materialized in mobile health apps, data about bodily states, and IT features such as displays and alarms “nudge” individuals towards compliance with self-regulatory guidelines and practices. Through this analysis, we identify two related regulatory affordances of mobile health apps for predicting and surveilling personal health. We theorize how multilevel networks composed of trifecta of rules, IT artifacts, and practices develop as a regulatory lattice through which social regulation is realized. We conclude by considering the broader implications of this analytical approach to study voluntary, data-enriched regulatory systems.

Management of Water Resources and Health Promotion in Drought: An Indigenous Knowledge-Based Qualitative Study

Introduction: Drought is a slow-onset natural disasters and a gradual concern. Throughout the centuries, Iranians have applied various methods to preserve water resources and adjust themselves to the drought. This study was conducted with the aim of preserving water resources by households during a drought with the approach of indigenous knowledge.
 Material and Methods: The study was carried out from April 2017 to June 2018. A qualitative content analysis method was used to obtain insight into personal experiences. A purposive sampling method was used to select 15 participants. The research population consisted of native villagers who lived in rural areas near the three main plains of Yazd province (Yazd-Ardakan plain, Abarkouh plain, and Herat Va Marvast plain). Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data.
 Results: The components related to indigenous knowledge were placed in 4 categories and 15 sub-categories. The main categories were personal hygiene, conservation of scarce resources, prediction of drought, and classification of water in terms of quality and its supply sources.
 Conclusion: Indigenous knowledge reflects several generations of experience. This knowledge is a valuable resource about how local communities interact with their ever-changing environments. We must pay attention to personal health behaviors and how our ancestors used and preserved scarce resources. It is necessary to identify and correct these behaviors and support them through proper management and financial resources at the community level. To preserve water resources in droughts, it is essential to use appropriate management and policy-making and motivational methods, and educate families.

Health and Environmental Protective Behavioral Intentions for Reducing Harm from Water Pollutants.

Understanding what motivates people to adopt protective behaviors is important in developing effective risk messaging. Motivations may vary depending on the nature of the risk and whether it poses a personal or impersonal threat. Water pollution creates both personal (human health) and impersonal (environmental) threats, yet few studies have examined people's motivations to protect both personal health and environmental health. Protection motivation theory (PMT) uses four key variables to predict what motivates individuals to protect themselves in relation to a perceived threat. Using data from an online survey (n = 621), we investigated the relationships between PMT variables related to health and environmental protective behavioral intentions related to toxic water pollutants among residents in Oregon, Idaho, and Washington, USA. Among PMT variables, high self-efficacy (belief in one's own capacity to carry out certain behaviors) significantly predicted both health and environmental protective behavioral intentions for water pollutants, while perceived severity of the threat was only significant in the environmental behavioral intentions model. Perceived vulnerability and response efficacy (belief that a specific behavior will effectively mitigate the threat) were significant in both models. Education level, political affiliation, and subjective knowledge of pollutants were significant predictors of environmental protective behavioral intentions, but not health protective behavioral intentions. The results of this study suggest that when communicating environmental risks of water pollution, highlighting self-efficacy in messaging is particularly important to promote protective environmental and personal health behavior.

Changes in Mental Health Symptoms as a Predictor of Cannabis Coping Motives and Consequences: Examining the Impact of COVID-19 Among College Students.

Cannabis use is common among college students and many students use cannabis to cope with negative affect. The COVID-19 pandemic was a particularly stressful time for college students. Subsequently, the present study compared college students who reported increases in anxiety/depression symptoms since COVID-19 stay at home orders to those who reported no change in anxiety/depression symptoms on cannabis coping motives, use frequency, and negative consequences. Specifically, we examined whether self-reported changes (i.e., group that indicated increases) in poor mental health during COVID-19 were associated with problematic cannabis use via higher cannabis coping motives. College students (analytic n = 291) completed an online survey for research credit regarding their personal mental health, COVID-19 stressors, and cannabis use behaviors. Individuals who reported increased depressive symptoms (57.4% of the current sample) due to COVID-19 (as compared to individuals whose depressive symptoms remained the same) reported significantly higher cannabis coping motives (d = .79) as well as more cannabis consequences (d = .37). Further, students who reported increased (61.5% of the current sample) anxiety symptoms (as compared to those whose anxiety symptoms stayed the same) also reported significantly higher cannabis coping motives (d = .47). Moreover, we found that students who reported an increase in depressive/anxiety symptoms reported more cannabis consequences via higher endorsement of cannabis coping motives while controlling for gender, cannabis use frequency, and past-week anxiety/depressive symptoms. Providing resources for substance-free coping strategies to manage the mental health impact of COVID-19 may be extremely useful for this population.

THE EFFECTS OF A SUMMER PROGRAM ON PHYSICAL FITNESS AND HEALTH OUTCOMES IN CHILDREN

https://youtu.be/uCkCVkd6kSY BACKGROUND High rates of adolescent obesity and its associated co-morbidities have been attributed to a lack of physical activity and unhealthy nutrition habits. This is especially apparent during the summer months, when adolescents are out of school and do not have the structure of the academic year and its planned extracurricular activities. The Translational Health in Nutrition and Kinesiology (THINK) program is a nutrition and exercise science curriculum that is interfaced with social emotional learning (SEL) to enhance to personal health and lifestyle behaviors in middle school youth. The purpose of this study is to determine whether the THINK program could improve physical fitness, nutrition habits, and SEL in a 6-week summer program across a 3 year period. METHODS/DESIGN Participants from the South Miami community were enrolled in the THINK (n =108, 58 males, 50 females, 12.03 +.56 years). The assessments of physical fitness included: cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) using the Pacer test, flexibility using the Sit & Reach test, power using the Vertical Jump test, agility using the Shuttle Run, and muscular endurance using the Curl-up test. Body composition was analyzed using the Inbody 520 and SEL was measured using the Positive Youth Inventory. Food habits were measured using the Adolescent Food Habits Checklist. Means and standard error values were evaluated for all dependent variables. Paired sample t-tests (SPSS version 27) were performed to determine changes in dependent variables over time. RESULTS Significant improvements in CFF (p<.001), power (p<.006), flexibility (p<.001), agility (p<.001), muscular endurance (p<.001), lean body mass (p<.001) Food Habits (p<.001), and SEL (p=.038) were found. CONCLUSION An integrative and physically active summer program can result in improvements in physical fitness, nutrition habits, and SEL in as little as 6-weeks. The emphasis on physical activities in combination with nutrition, science and SEL in programs such the THINK program may serve as novel approach for improving physical fitness and lifestyle behaviors in middle school adolescents during the summer months. Future studies should include control groups to determine whether these changes occur independent of typical maturation and developmental processes in youth.

It’s Cool to be Healthy! The Effect of Perceived Coolness on the Adoption of Fitness Bands and Health Behaviour

Contemporary technology success is frequently associated with the competitive advantage of being cool. A fitness band is one of the smart wearable devices promoting health behaviours, which is one of the cool lifestyle trends in modern societies. Although past research established the profound effects of coolness on user technology acceptance, the influencing role in fostering health behaviour remained obscure. To bridge the existing literature gap, the current study aims to examine the perception of coolness as a higher-order construct with multiple dimensions, namely originality, attractiveness, and sub-cultural appeals, by investigating the direct effect on fitness band adoption and indirect influence on users’ health behaviour. An online survey was conducted on 280 fitness band users, and the data was subsequently analysed via the Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The study results demonstrated that the perceived coolness of fitness bands significantly affects users’ device adoption levels, which subsequently influence personal health behaviour. This study thus contributes to health communication research by testing the coolness concept and developing the diffusioninnovation framework from current human-computer interaction literature. The findings would guide future developers of fitness bands to emphasise the coolness functions for higher degrees of adoption and positive impact on society.

The Effect of Fear of COVID-19 on Demonstrating Personal Health Behavior and Prosocial Behavior

The main purpose of this study is to determine the effect of fear of COVID-19 on showing personal health behavior and pro-social behavior during the period when new variations of the COVID-19 virus are seen in Turkey. A population-based cross-sectional research design was used in the study. The population of the study consisted of patients over the age of 18 who applied to a family medicine unit operating in Düzce city center and their relatives. Data were collected from 485 people using face-to-face survey technique. SPSS 23 and AMOS 26 package programs were used in the analysis of the data. The findings of the study revealed that the majority of the participants had a relatively high level of fear of COVID-19, their personal health behavior and their pro-social behavior. In addition, the empirical result of the study showed that the level of fear of COVID-19 significantly affects the level of personal health behavior and pro-social behavior. Thus, the increased level of COVID-19 fear leads to high personal health behavior and pro-social behavior. It was found that female participants had higher COVID-19 fear levels and exhibited more pro-social behavior than male participants; young individuals show more personal health behaviors and pro-social behavior; It has been determined that public employees have higher COVID-19 fear levels, show more personal health behaviors, and engage in pro-social behavior. In addition, it has been found that the majority of people who are afraid of the COVID-19 virus think that the virus is man-made.

Personal bias in nutrition advice: A survey of health professionals' recommendations regarding dairy and plant-based dairy alternatives.

To examine the association between health professionals' personal dietary behaviors and their professional nutrition recommendations on dairy and plant-based dairy alternatives. A cross-sectional survey of 331U.S. health professionals examined willingness to recommend dairy and/or plant-based dairy alternatives to patients across personal milk preference, and dietary pattern. Plant-based milk preference (OR 4.52; p<0.001) and following a vegetarian dietary pattern (OR 1.91; p=0.019) were associated with greater odds of recommending plant-based dairy alternatives to patients. Plant-based milk preference (OR 0.16; p<0.001), following a vegetarian dietary pattern (OR 0.45; p=0.009), and considering one's diet to be "plant-based" (OR 0.41; p=0.005) were associated with lessor odds of recommending dairy to patients. Dietetics professionals were more likely than all other health professionals to recommend both dairy and plant-based dairy alternatives to patients. Health professionals' nutrition recommendations may reflect their personal nutrition choices. Improved nutrition training, focusing on evidence-based recommendations, reducing personal bias in practice, and routinely including registered dietitians on interprofessional healthcare teams may improve the quality of nutrition advice given to U.S. consumers. This paper is the first to examine if health professionals' personal health behaviors are associated with their health advice on dairy and/or plant-based dairy alternatives.

Prediction of Depression in Older Adults Using Wide &amp; Deep Learning Model

Objectives: This study aims to suggest a depression prediction model using variables indirectly related to depression, which helps determine whether the target is depressed. Methods: This study using Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs (KIHSA)’s 2011, 2014, 2017 National Survey of Older Koreans, and the total number of subjects of the study is 30,571 elderly people 65 years of age or older. Results: The analysis way is deep learning especially Wide &amp; Deep Learning model that separately learns simple data and complex data. The dependent variable is depression, and the independent variable is a total of 30 variables related to personal attributes, economic status, human relationships, health status, health behavior, and life satisfaction. As a result of the main study, all the independent variables used were found to be correlated with depression, performance of Wide &amp; Deep model is 77.9% accuracy, 65.7% recall, 73.8% precision, 85.5% specificity, 69.5% F1-score, 85.3% AUROC, 90.0% AUPRC. Conclusions: It is expected that it will be helpful for the welfare of the elderly by searching for depressed patients at a lower cost and searching for potential depressed patients who want to hide their depression.

Using Normative Language When Describing Scientific Findings: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial of Effects on Trust and Credibility.

BackgroundTrust in science and scientists has received renewed attention because of the “infodemic” occurring alongside COVID-19. A robust evidence basis shows that such trust is associated with belief in misinformation and willingness to engage in public and personal health behaviors. At the same time, trust and the associated construct of credibility are complex meta-cognitive concepts that often are oversimplified in quantitative research. The discussion of research often includes both normative language (what one ought to do based on a study’s findings) and cognitive language (what a study found), but these types of claims are very different, since normative claims make assumptions about people’s interests. Thus, this paper presents a protocol for a large randomized controlled trial to experimentally test whether some of the variability in trust in science and scientists and perceived message credibility is attributable to the use of normative language when sharing study findings in contrast to the use of cognitive language alone.ObjectiveThe objective of this trial will be to examine if reading normative and cognitive claims about a scientific study, compared to cognitive claims alone, results in lower trust in science and scientists as well as lower perceived credibility of the scientist who conducted the study, perceived credibility of the research, trust in the scientific information on the post, and trust in scientific information coming from the author of the post.MethodsWe will conduct a randomized controlled trial consisting of 2 parallel groups and a 1:1 allocation ratio. A sample of 1500 adults aged ≥18 years who represent the overall US population distribution by gender, race/ethnicity, and age will randomly be assigned to either an “intervention” arm (normative and cognitive claims) or a control arm (cognitive claims alone). In each arm, participants will view and verify their understanding of an ecologically valid claim or set of claims (ie, from a highly cited, published research study) designed to look like a social media post. Outcomes will be trust in science and scientists, the perceived credibility of the scientist who conducted the study, the perceived credibility of the research, trust in the scientific information on the post, and trust in scientific information coming from the author of the post. Analyses will incorporate 9 covariates.ResultsThis study will be conducted without using any external funding mechanisms.ConclusionsIf there is a measurable effect attributable to the inclusion of normative language when writing about scientific findings, it should generate discussion about how such findings are presented and disseminated.Trial RegistrationOpen Science Framework n7yfc; https://osf.io/n7yfcInternational Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)PRR1-10.2196/41747

Determinants of personal vaccination hesitancy before and after the mid-2021 COVID-19 outbreak in Taiwan.

Using a 10 week nationwide online survey performed during a time period containing the time ahead, the start, and the peak of a COVID-19 outbreak in Taiwan, we investigated aspects that could affect participants' vaccination intentions. From March to May 2021, we surveyed 1,773 people in Taiwan, aged from 20 to 75 years, to determine potential acceptance rates and factors influencing the acceptance of a COVID-19 vaccine. We used an ordinal logistic regression with a backward selection method to identify factors that affected vaccination intention. Several factors could increase individuals' vaccination intentions including: being male, older, with an openness personality, having a better quality of life in the physical health domain, having better knowledge and personal health behavior, having more trust in the government, and being worried about misinformation. Perceived risks played a crucial role in the vaccine decision-making process. When the pandemic intensified, people's vaccination intentions increased significantly. The findings of the present study could highlight individuals' vaccination attitudes and provide governments with an empirical and dynamic base to design tailored strategies to increase vaccination rates.

Structural Barriers to HIV Prevention and Services: Perspectives of African American Women in Low-Income Communities.

BackgroundAfrican American women are at a disproportionate HIV risk compared with other U.S. women. Studies show that complex structural and social determinants, rather than individual behaviors, place African American women at greater risk of HIV infection; however, little is known about women’s views of what puts them at risk.AimsThis study sought to comprehend the perceptions of African American women living in low-income housing regarding the factors that influence both their personal sexual health behaviors and use of HIV prevention services.MethodsWe conducted seven focus groups with 48 African American women from 10 public housing communities in a small city in the southeastern United States. We analyzed the focus group transcripts using thematic data analysis to identify salient themes and points of interest related to the study aim.ResultsWomen identified factors related to the health care system (trustworthiness of the health care system), the external environment (racism, classism, patriarchal structures, and violence/crime), as well as predisposing (health beliefs, stigma, and gender norms), enabling (agency to negotiate gendered power), and need (perceived HIV risk and perceptions of partner characteristics) features of individuals in the population.ConclusionAfrican American women living in public housing are especially vulnerable to HIV infection due to intersectional discrimination based on racism, classism, gender power dynamics, and community conditions. Our findings confirm the need to develop HIV intervention programming addressing intersectional identities of those making up the communities they plan to address, and being informed by those living in the communities they plan to act on.

P035 COVID-19’s Impact on Head Start Teachers’ Relationships, Health Behaviors, and Stress Levels

BackgroundEarly care and education (ECE) workers experience physical and mental barriers to health. The novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) worsened ECE workers' physical health, emotional stress, and financial burdens. These measures of well-being are important as they have also been linked to ECE workers' relationship with children in their classrooms.ObjectiveExamine the impact of COVID-19 on the well-being of North Carolina (NC) Head Start (HS) teachers with an emphasis on their personal/professional relationships, personal health behaviors, and stressors.Study Design, Setting, ParticipantsA cross sectional convenience sample of NC HS teachers were recruited to participate in the study. Data were collected from teachers across all three regions of North Carolina September 2020-March 2021 using an online 27-item survey.Measurable Outcome/AnalysisResearchers analyzed demographic information and quantitative survey data using basic descriptive statistics. Two researchers coded participants’ open-ended responses using basic thematic analysis.ResultsSurvey respondents (n = 88) were predominantly female (97.6%), Black/African American (46.6%) or White (43.2%), with an average age of 43 years old. Teachers reported increased challenges to maintaining relationships with coworkers (57.9%), children in their classrooms (84.4%), and the children's families (81.1%). Half (50.6%) reported COVID-19 impacted their health. Over 70% indicated COVID-19 made physical activity challenging, 61.5% experienced weight gain, and 59% increased their snacking. Teachers expressed an increase in six psychological distress indicators; nervousness (88.9%), hopelessness (54.3%), restlessness (72.4%), sadness (50.6%), everything is an effort (58.4%) and worthlessness (31.2%).ConclusionsSurvey results furthered the understanding of COVID-19’s effects on HS teacher health. In a workforce overburdened with stress, COVID-19 compounded and created barriers to wellness. Future research should explore avenues to reduce health barriers for all ECE workers during the ongoing pandemic.FundingNIH

Egocentric norm in health-based decision making of patients on the autistic spectrum.

Individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) without intellectual disability (ID) may have advanced mental reasoning; however, symptomology may vary within the population. Possible symptomology includes communication problems, difficulty relating to people, things, and events, and sensory sensitivity. Current concepts in determining health behavior are not applicable to the ASD without ID population. The aim of this analysis is to define the concept of egocentric norm in the context of health-based decisions of adults diagnosed with ASD without ID and to support improved nursing practice with this population. The Walker and Avant approach was used. Model, borderline, and contrary cases are offered. Literature search yielded 47 peer reviewed papers that were included in the analysis. Uses of the concept were reviewed, following the Walker and Avant approach. Egocentric norm is defined as an individual's ability to perceive, adapt, and respond to information and potential consequences of personal health behavior based on self-evaluation and the immediate environment with limited regard to peer and family influence. The new concept of egocentric norm may account for the unique dynamics presented by adults with ASD without ID, which may impact health behaviors and actions.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Perceived Physical and Mental Health and Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors of People With Disabilities: A Quantitative Analysis of the International Community Survey.

This study aims to determine the perceived impact of the coronavirus pandemic on physical and mental health and healthy lifestyle behaviors in community-dwelling persons with disabilities, as compared with those without disabilities. A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted with a web-based global survey. Over 3 mos, 3550 responses were collected from 65 countries. The study included 2689 responses without skipped questions as full data for analysis. Most respondents were women (82.82%), and approximately half (52.81%) were between the ages of 25 and 39 yrs, followed by those between the ages of 40 and 60 yrs (38.6%). Among the participants, 52% indicated physical activity levels decreased and 20% reported eating less fruit and vegetables than before. Furthermore, 45% noted that they slept less than before. Perceived physical and mental health and changes to eating habits during the pandemic showed a significant difference in people with and without disabilities. Furthermore, perceived effects on physical health had a significant effect on the reported degree of disability. This study indicates that the pandemic had a larger impact on perceived physical and mental health and changes in eating habits and tobacco use among people with disabilities than people without disabilities.

Real-World Effectiveness of the mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines in Japan: A Case-Control Study.

The real-world effectiveness of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines in Japan remains unclear. This case–control study evaluated the vaccine effectiveness (VE) of two doses of mRNA vaccine, BNT162b2 or mRNA-1273, against the delta (B.1.617.2) variant in the Japanese general population in the period June–September 2021. Individuals in close contact with COVID-19 patients were tested using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). A self-administered questionnaire evaluated vaccination status, demographic data, underlying medical conditions, lifestyle, personal protective health behaviors, and living environment. Two vaccine doses were reported by 11.6% of cases (n = 389) and 35.2% of controls (n = 179). Compared with controls, cases were younger and had a lower proportion who always performed handwashing for ≥20 s, a higher proportion of alcohol consumers, and a lower proportion of individuals living in single-family homes or with commuting family members. After adjusting for these confounding factors and day of PCR testing by multivariate logistic regression analysis, the VE in the period June–July (delta variant proportion 45%) was 92% and 79% in the period August–September (delta variant proportion 89%). The adjusted VE for homestay, hotel-based isolation and quarantine, and hospitalization was 78%, 77%, and 97%, respectively. Despite declining slightly, VE against hospitalization remained robust for ~3 months after the second dose. Vaccination policymaking will require longer-term monitoring of VE against new variants.

U.S. medical students personal health behaviors, attitudes and perceived skills towards weight management counseling

Physicians’ abilities to address obesity in routine care may be affected by their own health behaviors, skills in and attitudes toward weight management counseling (WMC). Gender differences have been noted amongst these factors as well. We examined gender differences in personal health behaviors and predictors of perceived WMC skills and attitudes of medical students enrolled in a WMC trial. Enrollment took place in 2020 and consisted of students from eight U.S. medical schools. Baseline measures included demographics, exercise, and weight management behaviors, WMC attitudes and perceived skills. Descriptive statistics were calculated, and linear mixed models used to assess the effect of personal health behaviors on outcomes of WMC attitudes and perceived skills. Complete data were available for 1145 medical students. More males reported exercising 4 or more days/week (58.6% v. 41.4%), being more likely to monitor their weight (75.6% v. 70.3%) and less likely to intentionally attempt weight loss in the past (50.3% v. 65.3%) compared to females (all p’s < 0.05). Exercising 4 or more days per week was positively associated with perceived WMC skills in the adjusted model (β = 0.10, CI 0.06 to 0.14, p < 0.01). Exercise frequency was positively associated with perceived WMC skills, regardless of gender. WMC curriculum may consider focusing on personal health behaviors such as exercise to increase perceived WMC skills.

Personal health and nutrition information-seeking attitudes and behaviours of first year Canadian and United States veterinary students

Objective: To identify the primary sources of information first year Canadian and US veterinary students relied on for their personal health and nutrition information, and to explore their attitudes towards, and perceptions of, health information resources.&#x0D; Background: Though the animal health information-seeking behaviours (HISB) of veterinary students have been explored, research regarding personal HISB of this professional student population is limited.&#x0D; Evidentiary value: Participants were first year veterinary students (n=322) at the five Canadian veterinary schools and five randomly selected US veterinary schools. An online questionnaire was used to gather students’ demographic information, sources of health and nutrition information, and information-seeking attitudes and perceptions. This study may impact practice at the institutional level for veterinary educators.&#x0D; Methods: STATA 15.1© was used for quantitative analysis; involving multivariate logistic regression models, univariate analyses, and measures of frequency.&#x0D; Results: Results indicated high reliance on the Internet for personal health 213/322 (66%) and nutrition 196/322 (61%) information. While respondents revealed high trust levels in dietary recommendations from family doctors, 132/322 (41%) of students revealed their doctor did not provide any information on healthy diets. Students who reported the use of peer-reviewed journal articles for personal nutrition information were at greater odds of having confidence in knowing where to find nutrition information (Odds Ratio [OR] = 6.61, p&lt;0.001).&#x0D; Conclusion: Participating students reported a high reliance on the Internet search engine Google, and a general lack of guidance from medical professionals regarding general health needs.&#x0D; Application: Veterinary schools should consider this information to enhance student information literacy skills, particularly to facilitate personal HISB, and consequently help in management of personal health throughout the growing demands of the programme.&#x0D; &#x0D;

Barriers to and Facilitators of Using a One Button Tracker and Web-Based Data Analytics Tool for Personal Science: Exploratory Study.

BackgroundIndividuals’ self-tracking of subjectively experienced phenomena related to health can be challenging, as current options for instrumentation often involve too much effort in the moment or rely on retrospective self-reporting, which is likely to impair accuracy and compliance.ObjectiveThis study aims to assess the usability and perceived usefulness of low-effort, in-the-moment self-tracking using simple instrumentation and to establish the amount of support needed when using this approach.MethodsIn this exploratory study, the One Button Tracker—a press-button device that records time stamps and durations of button presses—was used for self-tracking. A total of 13 employees of an academic medical center chose a personal research question and used the One Button Tracker to actively track specific subjectively experienced phenomena for 2 to 4 weeks. To assess usability and usefulness, we combined qualitative data from semistructured interviews with quantitative results from the System Usability Scale.ResultsIn total, 29 barriers and 15 facilitators for using the One Button Tracker were found. Ease of use was the most frequently mentioned facilitator. The One Button Tracker’s usability received a median System Usability Scale score of 75.0 (IQR 42.50), which is considered as good usability. Participants experienced effects such as an increased awareness of the tracked phenomenon, a confirmation of personal knowledge, a gain of insight, and behavior change. Support and guidance during all stages of the self-tracking process were judged as valuable.ConclusionsThe low-effort, in-the-moment self-tracking of subjectively experienced phenomena has been shown to support personal knowledge gain and health behavior change for people with an interest in health promotion. After addressing barriers and formally validating the collected data, self-tracking devices may well be helpful for additional user types or health questions.

Perceived access, fear, and preventative behavior: Key relationships for positive outcomes during the COVID-19 health crisis.

The Coronavirus (COVID‐19) pandemic reduced real and perceived access to healthcare services, exacerbating pandemic fear, and thus influencing consumers' adoption of preventative health behaviors. Extending the EHBM, results from two studies show that perceived access to health services and pandemic fear impact an individual's general and COVID‐preventative health behaviors. High perceived access reduces pandemic fear through its buffering effects on perceived health vulnerability and pandemic‐related health system concern, especially with telehealth usage during the pandemic. While pandemic fear motivates COVID‐19 vaccination, pandemic fear reduces personal preventative health behavior (e.g., healthy eating, exercising) and has little effect on personal COVID‐preventative behaviors (e.g., wearing a mask, social distancing) when individuals perceive high pandemic‐related control. Moreover, the fear‐behavior link does not hold for preventative health visits; instead, perceived access directly promotes preventative visits and screening. This research informs public health stakeholders' communication, education, and resource allocation during health crises like the COVID‐19 pandemic.