Older people and smartwatches, initial experiences

Las tecnologías wearables, como los smartwatches (relojes inteligentes), se han visto como una oportunidad para resolver problemas, a menudo relacionados con las personas mayores (55+), tales como manejo de emergencias, falta de actividad física, y soledad. Sin embargo poco se sabe sobre en qué medida tales personas apropiarían estos dispositivos. Dotamos a 11 personas mayores con relojes inteligentes y seguimos sus primeras experiencia principalmente con dos entrevistas. De acuerdo con los resultados, las experiencias previas con otras tecnologías de la información y la comunicación, y las actitudes positivas hacia la tecnología fueron fundamentales para una primera apropiación de la nueva tecnología, y para superar los primeros problemas. Además el uso estuvo muy relacionado con las expectativas y los hábitos personales. Los participantes usaron los relojes en forma similar a la descrita en estudios previos con adultos (18-64), que incluye el manejo de notificaciones y los sistemas para seguimiento deportivo. El reloj proveía a la mayoría de los participantes un status social (asociado a ser guay, snob o joven), y creaba oportunidades o preocupaciones sobre el estilo personal.Abstract While wearable technologies, such as smartwatches, are seen as an opportunity to solve some problems often related to older people (65+), e.g. emergencies, physical activity, or isolation, little is known about how older people would domesticate such new technologies. In this study we provided eleven older individuals with smartwatches and tracked their expectations and initial experiences using two interviews. According to our preliminary findings, previous experience with ICTs along with optimistic attitudes toward technology were key to initial domestication of the new technology and overcoming initial problems. Moreover, use was closely related to expectations and personal habits. Participants in this study used smartwatches in similar ways to to those described in previous studies with adults (18–64), including managing notifications and sports’ tracking. Additionally, users reported that the smartwatch provided a boost in social status (associated with attributes such as cool, snobbish, young) and created some fashion opportunities and/or concerns

THE APPLICATION OF SMARTWATCH IN MANAGING EMPLOYEE HEALTH MONITORING

ABSTRACTWorkplace health issues have continued to increase, and this has caused problems such as increasing medical cost and medical leaves. In response to these issues, employers are starting to adopt health technology to overcome the problem such as smartwatch. Smartwatch technology is a wrist-worn device provided with a variety of sensors that are available for collecting physical activity and location data in real time. This paper aims to explore the future drivers of the smartwatch application in monitoring and managing employees’ health. The research study used exploratory research design utilizing the foresight methods. STEEPV analysis was used to identify the key drivers of smartwatch application and to develop a descriptive survey for assessing the impact and uncertainty of each driver. The survey was distributed to human resources managers of medium-sized companies in Malaysia. Technology readiness of smart watch adoption was evaluated using Technology Readiness Index (TRI). Thirty-five respondents took part in online survey. From the data analysis, top two drivers had been identified which are “social interaction” and “data transparency”. These drivers were used for developing future scenario of the smartwatch application in monitoring and managing employee health in the next 5 to 10 years. Four scenarios had been discussed in this paper which are healthy workplace environment, unattainable technology adoption, inefficient technology, and low adoption of smartwatch. This research would provide additional information about the future scenario of smartwatch application in managing employee health monitoring in Malaysia. Keywords: Smartwatch; Employee Health Monitoring; Technological Readines

Parents’ Perspectives on a Smartwatch Intervention for Children with ADHD: Rapid Deployment and Feasibility Evaluation of a Pilot Intervention to Support Distance Learning During COVID-19

Distance learning in response to the COVID-19 pandemic presented tremendous challenges for many families. Parents were expected to support children’s learning, often while also working from home. Students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are at particularly high risk for setbacks due to difficulties with organization and increased risk of not participating in scheduled online learning. This paper explores how smartwatch technology, including timing notifications, can support children with ADHD during distance learning due to COVID-19. We implemented a 6-week pilot study of a Digital Health Intervention (DHI) with ten families. The DHI included a smartwatch and a smartphone. Google calendars were synchronized across devices to guide children through daily schedules. After the sixth week, we conducted parent interviews to understand the use of smartwatches and the impact on children’s functioning, and we collected physiological data directly from the smartwatch. Our results demonstrated that children successfully adopted the use of the smartwatch, and parents believed the intervention was helpful, especially in supporting the development of organizational skills in their children. Overall, we illustrate how even simple DHIs, such as using smartwatches to promote daily organization and task completion, have the potential to support children and families, particularly during periods of distance learning. We include practical suggestions to help professionals teach children with ADHD to use smartwatches to improve organization and task completion, especially as it applies to supporting remote instruction

Smartwatch games: Encouraging privacy-protective behaviour in a longitudinal study

While the public claim concern for their privacy, they frequently appear to overlook it. This disparity between concern and behaviour is known as the Privacy Paradox. Such issues are particularly prevalent on wearable devices. These products can store personal data, such as text messages and contact details. However, owners rarely use protective features. Educational games can be effective in encouraging changes in behaviour. Therefore, we developed the first privacy game for (Android) Wear OS watches. 10 participants used smartwatches for two months, allowing their high-level settings to be monitored. Five individuals were randomly assigned to our treatment group, and they played a dynamically-customised privacy-themed game. To minimise confounding variables, the other five received the same app but lacking the privacy topic. The treatment group improved their protection, with their usage of screen locks significantly increasing (p = 0.043). In contrast, 80% of the control group continued to never restrict their settings. After the posttest phase, we evaluated behavioural rationale through semi-structured interviews. Privacy concerns became more nuanced in the treatment group, with opinions aligning with behaviour. Actions appeared influenced primarily by three factors: convenience, privacy salience and data sensitivity. This is the first smartwatch game to encourage privacy-protective behaviour

Exploring virtual rewards in real life: A gimmick or a motivational tool for promoting physical activity?

Virtual rewards, digital badges or points, are often awarded to extrinsically reinforce desirable user behaviors. Acknowledging their motivational power for increased user engagement and enhanced playfulness, virtual reward systems are widely employed in contemporary activity tracking devices and services. While the characteristics of the current virtual reward systems vary and previous studies point to mixed outcomes around the effectiveness of virtual rewards for encouraging physical activity, there is little empirical research on the actual use and impact of virtual rewards provided from activity tracking tools in a real-life environment. To address the knowledge gaps on the use and effects of virtual rewards, I investigate the lived experiences of users with the virtual reward system of the activity tracking tool and their effects and value in the physical activity practices of individuals. To understand this both qualitatively and quantitatively, I conduct user experience research using mixed methods. Diary-based autoethnography research is preceded using three popular activity trackers, thereby having and documenting situated experiences with two different digital badge systems and one points-based system. My autoethnographic exploration is followed by an online survey with 113 existing users of activity tracking devices. The collected data is analysed through content and statistical analyses. By interpreting the findings from both studies and the reviewed literature, this thesis illustrates in great detail how virtual rewards interact with users and other system features in real-life practices. In addition, it provides a clearer picture of the effects of virtual rewards on people’s engagement in physical exercise and what makes some of them more valuable. Finally, it offers a set of considerations for the design of virtual reward systems that can lead to more user-centric, multi-layered, and meaningful virtual reward experience

The use of mHealth solutions in active and healthy ageing promotion: an explorative scoping review

The global population aged 60 years and over is expected to almost double between 2015 and 2050 from 12.0% to 22.0%, which will directly impact countries' labor market composition and increase the economic pressure on their healthcare systems. One way to address these challenges is to promote Active and Healthy Ageing (AHA) using mobile Health (mHealth). This research aims to provide an initial overview of the width and the depth of contemporary preventive mHealth solutions that promote AHA among healthy, independent older adults (individuals aged 60 years and over). To do so, an explorative scoping review was applied to search online databases for recent studies (March 2015 - March 2020) addressing the promotion of mHealth solutions targeting healthy and independent older adults. We identified 31 publications that met the inclusion criteria. Most of them utilized either mobile (n=25) and/or wearable (n=11) devices. mHealth solutions mostly promoted AHA by targeting older adults’ active lifestyles or independence. Most of the studies (n=27) did not apply a theoretical framework on which the mHealth promotion was based. User-experience was positive (n=12) when the solution was easy to use but negative (n=11) when the participants were resistant or faced challenges using the device and/or technology. The review concludes that mHealth offers the opportunity to combat the issues faced by an unhealthy and dependent aging population by promoting AHA through focusing on older adults’ Lifestyle, Daily functioning, and Participation. Future research should use multidisciplinary integrated approaches and strong theoretical and methodological foundations to investigate mHealth solutions' impact on AHA behavioral change