Fitness Tracker Information and Privacy Management: Empirical Study

Abstract

Background Fitness trackers allow users to collect, manage, track, and monitor fitness-related activities, such as distance walked, calorie intake, sleep quality, and heart rate. Fitness trackers have become increasingly popular in the past decade. One in five Americans use a device or an app to track their fitness-related activities. These devices generate massive and important data that could help physicians make better assessments of their patients’ health if shared with health providers. This ultimately could lead to better health outcomes and perhaps even lower costs for patients. However, sharing personal fitness information with health care providers has drawbacks, mainly related to the risk of privacy loss and information misuse. Objective This study investigates the influence of granting users granular privacy control on their willingness to share fitness information. Methods The study used 270 valid responses collected from Mtrurkers through Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk). Participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups. The conceptual model was tested using structural equation modeling (SEM). The dependent variable was the intention to share fitness information. The independent variables were perceived risk, perceived benefits, and trust in the system. Results SEM explained about 60% of the variance in the dependent variable. Three of the four hypotheses were supported. Perceived risk and trust in the system had a significant relationship with the dependent variable, while trust in the system was not significant. Conclusions The findings show that people are willing to share their fitness information if they have granular privacy control. This study has practical and theoretical implications. It integrates communication privacy management (CPM) theory with the privacy calculus model.

Psychological antecedents of telehealth acceptance: A technology readiness perspective

“…Surprisingly, the effect is not significant. This contradicts previous research that the risks of telehealth are threats to telehealth usage [ 17 , 56 ]. A possible explanation is that the risks listed in the questionnaire survey are not persuasive enough to significantly reduce the expected value obtained from telehealth.…”

“…Nevertheless, insecurity does not have a significant negative impact on perceived value. Whilst ample research has identified that risks of telehealth can prohibit users from accepting the telehealth [ 56 ], the result of this research indicates that during the health crisis, the benefits of telehealth are becoming more evident; in this case, risks that cause fewer concerns may not significantly lower users' perceived value of telehealth. Further, attitude partially mediates the effect of perceived value on the acceptance of telehealth.…”

Health Habits and Wearable Activity Tracker Devices: Analytical Cross-Sectional Study

“…It seems that the use of wearables can modify habits such as excessive time spent sitting, unlike happens with other habits that may require a more complex elaboration, such as carrying out a physical activity program or modifying the diet according to health standards. If the registered information of the devices was managed by healthcare professionals, it could provide wider benefits to users [7,58]. Health professionals can advise on behavioral change techniques and recommendations to guide their use.…”

“…Due to the characteristics of the information they collect, they can be an exhaustive source of information on the health habits of the population that can be shared with health professionals and serve as a diagnostic tool on the quantity and quality of physical activity as well as other health-related habits such as the quantity and quality of sleep. However, most of the time, the population uses wearable activity tracker devices, but does not necessarily share the information obtained with professionals who can help them with interpretation and making it effective [7]. Sharing data from wearable devices with healthcare professionals would allow them to better understand their patients' habits [7].…”

“…However, most of the time, the population uses wearable activity tracker devices, but does not necessarily share the information obtained with professionals who can help them with interpretation and making it effective [7]. Sharing data from wearable devices with healthcare professionals would allow them to better understand their patients' habits [7].…”