Assessing the Acceptability and Feasibility of Wearable Mobile-Monitoring Devices Among Individuals with Serious Mental Illness: A Qualitative Study (Preprint)

<sec> <title>BACKGROUND</title> Serious mental illness is difficult to treat for various reasons, such as rapid changes in symptoms, comorbid health conditions, and long gaps between provider visits. Wearable mobile-sensing devices can be utilized to passively collect valuable patient-generated health data, which could inform and improve treatment for this population. </sec> <sec> <title>OBJECTIVE</title> The purpose of this study was to assess the acceptability and feasibility of utilizing wearable mobile-sensing devices to improve treatment outcomes for Veterans with serious mental illness. </sec> <sec> <title>METHODS</title> Qualitative interviews were conducted with participants who had been using a wearable health and fitness tracker for at least 2 weeks to explore their thoughts and perceptions of these devices. A total of fifteen Veterans diagnosed with a serious mental illness participated in interviews. Rapid qualitative analysis was then utilized to uncover findings in key domains. </sec> <sec> <title>RESULTS</title> Wearable fitness trackers allowed participants to conveniently monitor various aspects of their physical and mental health, provided a greater understanding of their overall well-being, and motivated them to reach personal health goals. Individuals were open to sharing their personal health information collected from the devices with providers to improve their healthcare treatment and expressed no privacy concerns surrounding data tracking. Participants experienced some technological challenges with using the devices and accompanying cellphone application, as well as difficulties in understanding the data collected. Greater technological support, in addition to physical device adjustments to enhance comfortability, were suggested ways of improving overall user experience. </sec> <sec> <title>CONCLUSIONS</title> Participants with serious mental illness in this sample were accepting of wearable mobile-monitoring devices and believe it is feasible to incorporate these fitness trackers into their daily lives. Patient-generated health data collected from these devices may offer valuable information that could be used to inform healthcare treatment for this population. </sec> <sec> <title>CLINICALTRIAL</title> N/A not a clinical trial </sec>