142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

Annual Meeting Recordings are now available for purchase

314928
Wearable fitness tracker intervention increases physical activity in Baby Boomers

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Monday, November 17, 2014

Laura Pugliese, MPH , Healthcare Innovation Technology Lab (HITLAB), New York, NY
Gati Dharani, MPH , Boehringer Ingelheim, New York, NY
Olga Crowley, PhD , Healthcare Innovation Technology Lab (HITLAB), New York, NY
Briana Britton , Healthcare Innovation Technology Lab, New York, NY
By the year of 2030, the number of people aged 65+ will be 72 million.  Compared to prior generations, this Baby Boomer cohort suffers from significantly higher prevalence of diabetes and hypertension, lower levels of exercise and higher rates of obesity. Promoting physical activity as a preventive method in this cohort is a public health imperative.

 A 12-month prospective quasi-experimental single cohort study, implemented by HITLAB and Boehringer Ingelheim, assessed the impact of a wearable fitness tracker in improving physical activity, sleep, BMI and self-reported health in 565 healthy adult volunteers.

 Data findings at Month 7 were aggregated into 3 age groups: younger (23-34 years, n=98), middle-aged (35-49 years, n=279), and older (Baby Boomers, 50-67 years, n=133). There was a significant overall change in the number of steps among the study population (p<.001), with a decline from October to January (M =7599 +/-2881, M=7378 +/-2950, M=7046 +/-3033, M=6753 +/-2931, respectively) followed by a subsequent increase to April (M=7123 +/-2901, M=7297 +/-2966, M=7710+/-3046, respectively), which may be explained by the effect of seasonal changes. Despite seasonal fluctuations, Baby Boomers showed greatest overall increase in the number of steps from baseline to Month 7 compared to other age groups (p =.0.013).

Baby Boomers exhibited the greatest increase in steps, suggesting activity trackers hold great promise for improving health-related outcomes in this cohort and in offsetting the future healthcare system burden posed by upcoming population change. Reported analysis of the full 12-month data set will be available in November 2014.

Learning Areas:

Administer health education strategies, interventions and programs
Chronic disease management and prevention
Communication and informatics
Public health or related research
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Demonstrate how Fitness trackers have evidenced ability to increase physical activity levels in older adults Assess potential of incorporating activity trackers into standard of care for older adults as a preventive measure for chronic disease, with long-term potential to offset cost burden on health system as this population ages

Keyword(s): Aging, Technology

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the research manager and co-principal investigator for the study described in this proposal. I have been the co-principal investigator or research manager on numerous studies of mHealth or health technology interventions funded by governmental agencies, foundations and corporations. My scientific area of interest is in the use of innovative, technology-driven approaches to improve public health outcomes.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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