Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2020 Feb 1;21(2):e68-e78.
doi: 10.1093/pm/pnz215.

Acceptability and Effects of Commercially Available Activity Trackers for Chronic Pain Management Among Older African American Adults

Mary R Janevic  1 , Varick Shute  1 , Susan L Murphy  2 , John D Piette  3
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Acceptability and Effects of Commercially Available Activity Trackers for Chronic Pain Management Among Older African American Adults

Mary R Janevic et al. Pain Med. .

Abstract

Background: Wearable activity trackers may facilitate walking for chronic pain management.

Objective: We assessed the acceptability of a commercially available tracker and three alternative modes of reporting daily steps among older adults in a low-income, urban community. We examined whether using the tracker (Fitbit ZipTM) was associated with improvements in functioning and activity.

Design: Randomized controlled pilot and feasibility trial.

Subjects: Fifty-one African American adults in Detroit, Michigan, aged 60 to 85 years, with chronic musculoskeletal pain (28 in the intervention group, 23 controls).

Methods: Participants completed telephone surveys at baseline and eight weeks. Intervention participants wore trackers for six weeks, alternately reporting daily step counts via text messages, automated telephone calls, and syncing (two weeks each). We used multimethods to assess satisfaction with trackers and reporting modalities. Adherence was indicated by the proportion of expected days on which valid step counts were reported. We assessed changes in pain interference, physical function, social participation, walking frequency, and walking duration.

Results: More than 90% of participants rated trackers as easy to use, but some had technical or dexterity-related difficulties. Text reporting yielded 79% reporting adherence vs 69% each for automated calls and syncing. Intervention participants did not show greater improvement in functioning or walking than controls.

Conclusions: With appropriate support, wearable activity trackers and mHealth reporting for chronic pain self-care are feasible for use by vulnerable older adults. Future research should test whether the effects of trackers on pain-related outcomes can be enhanced by incorporating behavior change strategies and training in evidence-based cognitive-behavioral techniques.

Keywords: African Americans; Chronic Pain; Older Adults; Physical Activity; mHealth.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Study procedure for intervention and control groups. IVR = interactive voice response (automated phone calls); SMS = short message service (text messages).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Zimmer Z, Zajacova A.. Persistent, consistent, and extensive: The trend of increasing pain prevalence in older Americans. J Gerontol B Psychol Psi Soc Psi. 2018; (doi:10.1093/geronb/gbx162). - PubMed
    1. Interagency Pain Research Coordinating Committee. National Pain Strategy. US Department of Health and Human Services; 2016. https://www.iprcc.nih.gov/National-Pain-Strategy/Overview. (accessed August 15, 2019).
    1. O'Connor SR, Tully MA, Ryan B, et al. Walking exercise for chronic musculoskeletal pain: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Arch Phys Medic Rehabil 2015;96(4):724–34e3. - PubMed
    1. Mercer K, Giangregorio L, Schneider E, Chilana P, Li M, Grindrod K.. Acceptance of commercially available wearable activity trackers among adults aged over 50 and with chronic illness: A mixed-methods evaluation. JMIR mHealth uHealth 2016;4(1):e7.. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Heapy AA, Higgins DM, LaChappelle KM, et al. Cooperative pain education and self-management (COPES): study design and protocol of a randomized non-inferiority trial of an interactive voice response-based self-management intervention for chronic low back pain. BMC Musculoskelet Disord 2016;17(1):1–13. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types