Project 5: Preventing Complications with Improved Physical Activity: Can Self-Monitoring Technologies Help?

*Please note: This project is no longer recruiting participants.*

A sub study of PRECISION: Preventing Complications from Inflammatory Skin, Joint and Bowel Conditions

Project Lead: Linda Li, PT, PhD. Senior Scientist of Clinical Epidemiology, Arthritis Research Canada, Professor, Department of Physical Therapy, University of British Columbia

Study Start Date: 2015   Study End Date: 2019

What were the key findings?

• We developed a web application called FitViz which gathers data from patients’ Fitbit and allows their health professionals to use this data in setting personalized goals with the patient.
• The use of Fitbit and FitViz appeared to increased physical activity awareness, and helped in setting realistic goals.
• But, some interview participants expressed that they did not trust the Fitbit/FitViz recording of their goal achievement.
• We have used these findings to refine the technology-based intervention for patients with arthritis.

What was done?

We conducted a pilot study with 20 patients with RA or knee OA, of those 11 were interviewed to share their experiences after using Fitbit and FitViz for a month.

Who was involved?

Physiotherapists and individuals who were diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis or lupus or osteoarthritis.

Co-investigators:

Lynne Feehan, PhD, Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Physical Therapy, UBC
Diane Gromala, PhD, Professor, School of Interactive Arts & Technology, Simon Fraser University.
Chris Shaw, PhD, Professor, Associate Director, School of Interactive Arts & Technology, Simon Fraser University.

Who funded this research?

This study was part of PRECISION: Preventing Complications from Inflammatory Skin, Joint and Bowel Conditions, funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

Publications:

Gupta A, Heng T, Shaw C, Li LC, Feehan LM. Designing pervasive technology for physical activity self-management in arthritis patients. Conference Proceeding. The 12^th EAI International Conference on Pervasive Computing Technologies for Healthcare, PervasiveHealth’18, May 2018. New York, USA.

Gupta A, Tong X, Shaw C, Li LC, Feehan L. FitViz: A personal informatics tool for self-management of rheumatoid arthritis. Conference Proceeding. In: Stephanidis C. (eds) HCI International 2017 – Posters’ Extended Abstracts. HCI 2017. Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol 714. Springer, Cham. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-58753-0_35. Vancouver, BC.