Tracking physical activity using smart phone apps: assessing the ability of a current app and systematically collecting patient recommendations for future development

Abstract

Background: Within the United Kingdom's National Health System (NHS), patients suffering from obesity may be provided with bariatric surgery. After receiving surgery many of these patients require further support to continue to lose more weight or to maintain a healthy weight. Remotely monitoring such patients' physical activity and other healthrelated variables could provide healthworkers with a more 'ecologically valid' picture of these patients' behaviours to then provide more personalised support. The current study assesses the feasibility of two smartphone apps to do so. In addition, the study looks at the barriers and facilitators patients experience to using these apps effectively. Methods: Participants with a BMI > 35 kg/m 2 being considered for and who had previously undergone bariatric surgery were recruited. Participants were asked to install two mobile phone apps. The 'Moves' app automatically tracked participants' physical activity and the 'WLCompanion' app prompted participants to set goals and input other healthrelated information. Then, to learn about participants' facilitators and barriers to using the apps, some participants were asked to complete a survey informed by the Theoretical Domains Framework. The data were analysed using regressions and descriptive statistics. Results: Of the 494 participants originally enrolled, 274 participants data were included in the analyses about their activity pre-and/or post-bariatric surgery (ages 18-65, M = 44.02, SD ± 11.29). Further analyses were performed on those 36 participants whose activity was tracked both pre-and post-surgery. Participants' activity levels pre-and post-surgery did not differ. In addition, 54 participants' survey responses suggested that the main facilitator to their continued use of the Moves app was its automatic nature, and the main barrier was its battery drain. Conclusions: The current study tracked physical activity in patients considered for and who had previously undergone bariatric surgery. The results should be interpreted with caution because of the small number of participants whose data meet the inclusion criteria and the barriers participants encountered to using the apps. Future studies should take note of the barriers to develop more user-friendly apps. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov-NCT01365416 on the 3rd of June 2011.

Validity and Reliability of Mobile Applications for Assessing Strength, Power, Velocity, and Change-of-Direction: A Systematic Review

“…Overall, 11 different apps were tested, in which [ 15 , 19 , 28 , 32 , 37 , 42 ] studies were conducted using the My Jump and My Jump App 2, [ 17 , 18 , 27 , 30 , 34 , 38 , 44 , 46 ] the Powerlift, previously named Mylift, [ 36 ] the Ergo Arm Meter, [ 35 ] the Smartphone accelerometer, [ 33 , 41 ] the Speedclock App, [ 31 ] the MySprint App, [ 29 , 45 ] the ILoad, and [ 26 ] the Styrd App.…”

“…Various parameters are measured by practitioners under physical conditions [ 3 , 34 ]. For example, it is used to measure balance [ 43 ], distance [ 44 ] and physical activity [ 45 ]. In addition, it has been reported in the research that the use of mobile applications increases the level of physical activity by increasing the level of physical fitness [ 46 ].…”

Missing Something? Comparisons of Effectiveness and Outcomes of Bariatric Surgery Procedures and Their Preferred Reporting: Refining the Evidence Base

“…Despite all the above, there is a dearth of data on the effects of exercise on WL and WL maintenance after BS [14]. Although inclusion of PA and exercise in clinical follow-up schedules greatly benefits BS patients since this leads to greater improvements in body composition, bone mineral density, muscle strength, and fitness [19], participants' activity pre-and postsurgery showed that their PA levels pre-and post-surgery did not differ [20]. These findings suggest the need to measure PA post-BS and incorporate it in the analysis in order to realistically compare the effectiveness of various BS procedures.…”

“…The Bariatric Analysis and Reporting Outcome System (BAROS) and its modification [37,58] evaluate changes in quality of life, metabolic effects, and complications after BS, but do not consider the quality of diet or PA [21]. Recently, a study used a mobile phone App to track PA among patients considered for and who had previously undergone BS [20]. Total energy expenditure can be accurately evaluated using doubly labeled water, but it is less practical for large-scale research [59,60].…”

Remote Patient Health Monitoring System Using Mobile and Wireless Body Area Network in Yemen

“…However, anywhere delivery of the patient's data is not supported by those systems. Another similar previous study focuses on sensing and sending patients' data directly from PDA to the doctors [18], [19]. They propose the system, which is named "Remote Patient Monitoring" (RPM).…”