Technology engagement is associated with higher perceived physical well-being in stroke patients prescribed smartwatches for atrial fibrillation detection

Edith Mensah Otabil; Qiying Dai; Paula Anzenberg; Andreas Filippaios; Eric Ding; Jordy Mehawej; Joanne E Mathew; Darleen Lessard; Ziyue Wang; Kamran Noorishirazi; Alexander Hamel; Tenes Paul; Danielle DiMezza; Dong Han; Fahimeh Mohagheghian; Apurv Soni; Honghuang Lin; Bruce Barton; Jane Saczynski; Ki H Chon; Khanh-Van Tran; David D McManus

doi:10.3389/fdgth.2023.1243959

Technology engagement is associated with higher perceived physical well-being in stroke patients prescribed smartwatches for atrial fibrillation detection

Front Digit Health. 2023 Dec 6:5:1243959. doi: 10.3389/fdgth.2023.1243959. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Edith Mensah Otabil¹, Qiying Dai², Paula Anzenberg¹, Andreas Filippaios¹, Eric Ding¹, Jordy Mehawej¹, Joanne E Mathew³, Darleen Lessard⁴, Ziyue Wang⁴, Kamran Noorishirazi¹, Alexander Hamel¹, Tenes Paul¹, Danielle DiMezza¹, Dong Han⁵, Fahimeh Mohagheghian⁵, Apurv Soni¹, Honghuang Lin¹, Bruce Barton⁴, Jane Saczynski⁶, Ki H Chon⁵, Khanh-Van Tran¹, David D McManus¹

Affiliations

¹ Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, United States.
² Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, Saint Vincent Hospital, Worcester, MA, United States.
³ Department of Internal Medicine, Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, MI, United States.
⁴ Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, United States.
⁵ Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, United States.
⁶ Department of Pharmacy and Health Systems Sciences, School of Pharmacy, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, United States.

Abstract

Background: Increasing ownership of smartphones among Americans provides an opportunity to use these technologies to manage medical conditions. We examine the influence of baseline smartwatch ownership on changes in self-reported anxiety, patient engagement, and health-related quality of life when prescribed smartwatch for AF detection.

Method: We performed a post-hoc secondary analysis of the Pulsewatch study (NCT03761394), a clinical trial in which 120 participants were randomized to receive a smartwatch-smartphone app dyad and ECG patch monitor compared to an ECG patch monitor alone to establish the accuracy of the smartwatch-smartphone app dyad for detection of AF. At baseline, 14 days, and 44 days, participants completed the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 survey, the Health Survey SF-12, and the Consumer Health Activation Index. Mixed-effects linear regression models using repeated measures with anxiety, patient activation, physical and mental health status as outcomes were used to examine their association with smartwatch ownership at baseline.

Results: Ninety-six participants, primarily White with high income and tertiary education, were randomized to receive a study smartwatch-smartphone dyad. Twenty-four (25%) participants previously owned a smartwatch. Compared to those who did not previously own a smartwatch, smartwatch owners reported significant greater increase in their self-reported physical health (β = 5.07, P < 0.05), no differences in anxiety (β = 0.92, P = 0.33), mental health (β = -2.42, P = 0.16), or patient activation (β = 1.86, P = 0.54).

Conclusions: Participants who own a smartwatch at baseline reported a greater positive change in self-reported physical health, but not in anxiety, patient activation, or self-reported mental health over the study period.

Keywords: Pulsewatch; anxiety; atrial fibrillation detection; patient activation; self-reported mental health; self-reported physical health; smartwatch.

Abstract

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