Manual Content Analysis of Online Customer Reviews on Wearable Technologies for the Treatment of Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviours

Aim: To better understand the real-world impact that wearable technologies with vibration feedback are having on the treatment of body focused repetitive behaviours (BFRBs). Materials and Methods: A manual content analysis was performed on 173 Amazon, Google Play, and Apple reviews, collected from September 2016 to September 2023, on 3 wearable technologies designed to treat BFRBs: 1. Habit Aware Keen (versions 1 and 2), 2. Slightly Robot, and 3. Face Touch Aware. Results: 96 % of all clinical commentary was positive. The most frequent endorsements were 1. symptomatic improvement, 2. increased awareness of BFRBs throughout the day, and 3. rapid symptom reduction. 8 % of clinical commentary reported complete remission of BFRBs. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that wearable technologies are being favourably adopted by the public to treat BFRBs. This treatment approach offers a unique advantage over traditional behaviour modification therapies, which have been limited by lack of trained therapists and cost.