Wearables for measuring health effects of climate change-induced weather extremes: A scoping review (Preprint)

Abstract

BACKGROUND Individual-level data on direct exposure and health impacts are scarce in the field of climate change and health. Wearable electronic devices (wearables) have become widely accepted in various areas of health research for the so-called ecological momentary assessment. OBJECTIVE We conducted this scoping review to map existing research on wearables used to detect direct health impacts and individual exposure during climate change-induced weather extremes such as heatwaves or wildfires. METHODS We conducted a scoping review and systematically searched six databases (PubMed, IEEE Xplore, CINAHL, WoS, Scopus, Ovid) and Google Scholar. A total of 1,871 references were screened. RESULTS The review comprised a total of 55,284 study participants using wearables in 53 studies. Most studies were conducted in upper-middle and high-income countries (50/53; 94%) in urban environments (25/53; 47%) or in a climatic chamber (19/53; 36%) and assessed health effects of heat exposure (52/53; 98%). The majority found adverse health effects of heat exposure on sleep, physical activity, and heart rate. Remaining studies assessed occupational heat stress or compared individual and area-level heat exposure. Fourteen studies (14/53; 26%) determined that all examined wearables were valid and reliable for measuring health parameters during heat exposure when compared to standard methods. CONCLUSIONS Wearables have been utilized successfully in large-scale research to measure the health implications of climate change-related weather extremes. Further research is needed in low-income countries and vulnerable populations with pre-existing conditions.

Widening the lens of population-based health research to climate change impacts and adaptation: the climate change and health evaluation and response system (CHEERS)

“…The use of digital technologies in data collection also allows for real-time monitoring of population health status and the health effects of exposures, which can be translated into accessible dashboards for policymakers, stakeholders, and the general public for data-driven decision making. Evaluation of individual CHEERS components, such as wearables (42,52), and remote sensing (43,44), and, has shown promising results, with ongoing efforts to integrate CHEERS and health district data for a comprehensive population health monitoring system. Ultimately, CHEERS has the potential to transform HDSSs and similar research infrastructures into climate-and health-ready research infrastructures, allowing for the generation of data that can inform public health policy and practice.…”

“…We carried out an observational study spanning from August 2021 to June 2022, collecting data for 11 months, to investigate the effect of extreme weather on the health of the rural population in Burkina Faso using wearable devices (52). Linear mixed effects models were used to estimate the relation between heat and precipitation with daily activity, sleep duration and heart rate.…”