In the past few years, a number of companies have marketed wearable devices and mobile apps that can track our personal health data. These “mHealth” devices and apps have led to the birth of what is known as the “quantified self” — a phenomenon where individuals start tracking their behavioral, physiological, biological, and other kinds of health markers. A key question of interest in this ecosystem remained unanswered up until recently: Is there any scientific evidence that consumer adoption and usage of these wearable devices and mobile health apps actually leads to a tangible change in their behavior, which, in turn, can show up in concrete health care outcomes? This is the question my coauthors and I investigated in a recently published paper.
Do Health Apps Really Make Us Healthier?
Research shows they do, but how health care providers should use them isn’t quite so clear.
May 07, 2021
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Summary.
Findings that mobile and wearable devices and apps do lead patients to change their behaviors in ways that can positively affect their health provide offer not just patients but also care providers and insurers with opportunities. But surprising results about the effectiveness of personalized vs. non-personalized prods means that there is no clear-cut way to remind patients to adopt healthy behaviors. This suggests that providers need to experiment to find out what works best with patients.