Background: Despite the growing popularity of wearable health care devices (from fitness trackes such as Fitbit to smartwatches such as Apple Watch and more sophisticated devices that can collect information on metrics such as blood pressure, glucose levels, and oxygen levels), we have a limited understanding about the actual use and key factors affecting the use of these devices by US adults.
Objective: The main objective of this study was to examine the use of wearable health care devices and the key predictors of wearable use by US adults.
Methods: Using a national survey of 4551 respondents, we examined the usage patterns of wearable health care devices (use of wearables, frequency of their use, and willingness to share health data from a wearable with a provider) and a set of predictors that pertain to personal demographics (age, gender, race, education, marital status, and household income), individual health (general health, presence of chronic conditions, weight perceptions, frequency of provider visits, and attitude towards exercise), and technology self-efficacy using logistic regression analysis.
Results: About 30% (1266/4551) of US adults use wearable health care devices. Among the users, nearly half (47.33%) use the devices every day, with a majority (82.38% weighted) willing to share the health data from wearables with their care providers. Women (16.25%), White individuals (19.74%), adults aged 18-50 years (19.52%), those with some level of college education or college graduates (25.60%), and those with annual household incomes greater than US $75,000 (17.66%) were most likely to report using wearable health care devices. We found that the use of wearables declines with age: Adults aged >50 years were less likely to use wearables compared to those aged 18-34 years (odds ratios [OR] 0.46-0.57). Women (OR 1.26, 95% CI 0.96-1.65), White individuals (OR 1.65, 95% CI 0.97-2.79), college graduates (OR 1.05, 95% CI 0.31-3.51), and those with annual household incomes greater than US $75,000 (OR 2.6, 95% CI 1.39-4.86) were more likely to use wearables. US adults who reported feeling healthier (OR 1.17, 95% CI 0.98-1.39), were overweight (OR 1.16, 95% CI 1.06-1.27), enjoyed exercise (OR 1.23, 95% CI 1.06-1.43), and reported higher levels of technology self-efficacy (OR 1.33, 95% CI 1.21-1.46) were more likely to adopt and use wearables for tracking or monitoring their health.
Conclusions: The potential of wearable health care devices is under-realized, with less than one-third of US adults actively using these devices. With only younger, healthier, wealthier, more educated, technoliterate adults using wearables, other groups have been left behind. More concentrated efforts by clinicians, device makers, and health care policy makers are needed to bridge this divide and improve the use of wearable devices among larger sections of American society.

/pdf/patterns-of-use-and-key-predictors-for-the-use-of-wearable-2psjpao7q7.pdf

Patterns of Use and Key Predictors for the Use of Wearable Health Care Devices by US Adults: Insights from a National Survey.

Unobtrusive in-vehicle health monitoring has the potential to use the driving time to perform regular medical check-ups. This work intends to provide a guide to currently proposed sensor systems for in-vehicle monitoring and to answer, in particular, the questions: (1) Which sensors are suitable for in-vehicle data collection? (2) Where should the sensors be placed? (3) Which biosignals or vital signs can be monitored in the vehicle? (4) Which purposes can be supported with the health data? We reviewed retrospective literature systematically and summarized the up-to-date research on leveraging sensor technology for unobtrusive in-vehicle health monitoring. PubMed, IEEE Xplore, and Scopus delivered 959 articles. We firstly screened titles and abstracts for relevance. Thereafter, we assessed the entire articles. Finally, 46 papers were included and analyzed. A guide is provided to the currently proposed sensor systems. Through this guide, potential sensor information can be derived from the biomedical data needed for respective purposes. The suggested locations for the corresponding sensors are also linked. Fifteen types of sensors were found. Driver-centered locations, such as steering wheel, car seat, and windscreen, are frequently used for mounting unobtrusive sensors, through which some typical biosignals like heart rate and respiration rate are measured. To date, most research focuses on sensor technology development, and most application-driven research aims at driving safety. Health-oriented research on the medical use of sensor-derived physiological parameters is still of interest.

https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/21/3/864/pdf

Unobtrusive Health Monitoring in Private Spaces: The Smart Home.

Over the last decade, there has been considerable and increasing interest in the development of Active and Assisted Living (AAL) systems to support independent living. The demographic change towards an aging population has introduced new challenges to today’s society from both an economic and societal standpoint. AAL can provide an arrary of solutions for improving the quality of life of individuals, for allowing people to live healthier and independently for longer, for helping people with disabilities, and for supporting caregivers and medical staff. A vast amount of literature exists on this topic, so this paper aims to provide a survey of the research and skills related to AAL systems. A comprehensive analysis is presented that addresses the main trends towards the development of AAL systems both from technological and methodological points of view and highlights the main issues that are worthy of further investigation.

https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/21/10/3549/pdf

Ambient Assisted Living: A Review of Technologies, Methodologies and Future Perspectives for Healthy Aging of Population

The availability of wearable devices (WDs) to collect biometric information and their use during activities of daily living is significantly increasing in the general population. These small electronic devices, which record fitness and health-related outcomes, have been broadly utilized in industries such as medicine, healthcare, and fitness. Since they are simple to use and progressively cheaper, they have also been used for numerous research purposes. However, despite their increasing popularity, most of these WDs do not accurately measure the proclaimed outcomes. In fact, research is equivocal about whether they are valid and reliable methods to specifically evaluate physical activity and health-related outcomes in older adults, since they are mostly designed and produced considering younger subjects' physical and mental characteristics. Additionally, their constant evolution through continuous upgrades and redesigned versions, suggests the need for constant up-to-date reviews and research. Accordingly, this article aims to scrutinize the state-of-the-art scientific evidence about the usefulness of WDs, specifically on older adults, to monitor physical activity and health-related outcomes. This critical review not only aims to inform older consumers but also aid researchers in study design when selecting physical activity and healthcare monitoring devices for elderly people.

https://www.mdpi.com/2308-3417/6/2/38/pdf

Wearable Devices for Physical Activity and Healthcare Monitoring in Elderly People: A Critical Review.

The Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) has emerged as one of the most important key applications of IoT. IoMT makes the diagnosis and care more convenient and reliable with proven results. The paper presents the technology, open issues, and challenges of IoMT-based systems. It explores the various types of sensors and smart equipment based on IoMT and used for diagnosis and patient care. A comprehensive survey of early detection and postdetection care of the neural disorder dementia is conducted. The paper also presents a postdiagnosis dementia care model named “Demencare.” This model incorporates eight sensors capable of tracking the daily routine of dementia patient. The patients can be monitored locally by an edge computing device kept at their premises. The medical experts may also monitor the patients’ status for any deviation from normal behavior. IoMT enables better postdiagnosis care for neural disorders, like dementia and Alzheimer’s. The patient’s behavior and vital parameters are always available despite the remote location of the patients. The data of the patients may be classified, and new insights may be obtained to tackle patients in a better manner.

/pdf/a-perspective-roadmap-for-iomt-based-early-detection-and-5cp507q3rk.pdf

A Perspective Roadmap for IoMT-Based Early Detection and Care of the Neural Disorder, Dementia

The increasing ageing global population is causing an upsurge in ailments related to old age, primarily dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, frailty, Parkinson’s, and cardiovascular disease, but also a general need for general eldercare as well as active and healthy ageing. In turn, there is a need for constant monitoring and assistance, intervention, and support, causing a considerable financial and human burden on individuals and their caregivers. Interconnected sensing technology, such as IoT wearables and devices, present a promising solution for objective, reliable, and remote monitoring, assessment, and support through ambient assisted living. This paper presents a review of such solutions including both earlier review studies and individual case studies, rapidly evolving in the last decade. In doing so, it examines and categorizes them according to common aspects of interest such as health focus, from specific ailments to general eldercare; IoT technologies, from wearables to smart home sensors; aims, from assessment to fall detection and indoor positioning to intervention; and experimental evaluation participants duration and outcome measures, from acceptability to accuracy. Statistics drawn from this categorization aim to outline the current state-of-the-art, as well as trends and effective practices for the future of effective, accessible, and acceptable eldercare with technology.

Asterios Papastergiou

Papers

IoT Wearable Sensors and Devices in Elderly Care: A Literature Review.