First Place in Category #1 – Nursing: Health and Aging
Winner Library Literacy Award for Posters
STUDENT: Megan Lucey
PROJECT ADVISOR: Michael Evans
ABSTRACT
Wearable healthcare technology, devices that are worn to collect data on health and exercise, are growing in popularity and uses. Some of the functions of wearable technology include measuring blood pressure, sleep, heart rate and rhythm, and steps taken. A well-known example of these devices is the Fitbit™. Many wearable devices can be paired with smartphones for easy access to the data they collect. However, there are still issues with usability of wearable devices. A 2020 study determined that popular wearable wrist devices had unsatisfactory usability that needed improvement. Wearable devices are not yet integrated into electronic health records (EHR), but technology is being developed to assist with this advancement. These devices offer numerous advantages for nursing such as empowering a patient to manage their own health, providing significant amounts of health data, and improving quality of care. Still, there are disadvantages that must be addressed regarding these devices such as issues with usability, patient privacy, and security. Another issue with wearable devices is a lack of digital literacy among U.S. adults. These devices require digital literacy to be used, yet 16% of U.S. adults are not digitally literate, thus causing data to be misinterpreted. Wearable healthcare devices have the potential to provide significant benefits for nursing. However, concerns and issues of these devices must first be addressed. Areas of improvement for wearable devices include usability, EHR integration, security, HIPAA compliance, and data privacy. Nurses should be aware of this technology in order to educate patients on their healthcare options.
Megan,
This is a great project especially with the advancements in technology in Healthcare. The poster is well organized and easy to read due to font size (thank you). You spoke about Fitbit but as you may know the iWatch can now take an actual EKG which can be transmitted to the physician. This is very helpful with patients who have specific arrhythmias.
What a great topic for the new generation of nurses!
Great job!
Annette
Megan,
What a nice surprise to see a poster by someone I know while scanning the entries. Your project is so timely and easy to read, plus I appreciate your concern for the fact that many older adults who would benefit from this technology are limited by their knowledge of that same technology. I am glad I read the abstract to see you also addressed security and data privacy. A system that is not secure will be rejected by many.
Great concise poster.
Terry
Very nicely done. Good description of the method used in the research. Strong and readable layout. It might be something to think about for future research along this line to look at all types of wearables and what is the data privacy for each… Or how to get people to increase digital knowledge to help with their health care.