What You Ought to Know:
– Fitbit, immediately introduced it has awarded six researchers greater than a complete of $300,000 in Fitbit gadgets and providers to assist their analysis tasks working to handle well being disparities in communities. Over the previous decade, researchers have used Fitbit gadgets in over 900 well being research, in areas like diabetes, coronary heart illness, oncology, psychological well being, infectious illness and extra.
– Moreover, Fitbit’s long-time associate, Fitabase, will present all tasks with entry to their knowledge administration platform to assist researchers maximize examine participation and evaluation.
Below-resourced communities throughout the nation have lengthy confronted disparities in well being on account of structural and long-standing inequities.
Why It Issues
Below-resourced communities throughout the nation have lengthy confronted disparities in well being on account of structural and long-standing inequities. Sadly, the pandemic has additional widened many of those gaps. Nonetheless, well being fairness analysis in digital well being stays restricted. To assist tackle these points, we introduced the Fitbit Well being Fairness Analysis Initiative earlier this yr to assist assist underrepresented researchers who’re early of their careers and dealing to handle well being disparities in communities
Here’s a take a look at the six awardees and their analysis tasks advancing well being fairness:
Bettering postpartum look after rural black ladies
Black ladies within the U.S. are two to 3 instances extra probably to die from being pregnant or childbirth when in comparison with their white counterparts. And in Georgia, the disparities are extra pronounced amongst rural populations. “As Black ladies who reside in Georgia, we’re extra prone to die just by turning into pregnant,” shares Sherilyn Francis, a PhD scholar in Georgia Tech’s Human-Centered Computing program. Her analysis goals to enhance postpartum look after rural Black moms by means of a culturally knowledgeable cell well being intervention. As a part of the examine, contributors will obtain a Fitbit Sense smartwatch and Fitbit Aria Air scale. By combining perception into bodily exercise, coronary heart price, sleep, weight and dietary knowledge with well being outcomes, Sherilyn and her colleagues hope to make clear methods to scale back the chance of extreme maternal morbidity for Black moms.
A take a look at sleep well being in transgender youth
Transgender youth (ages 14-19) are at elevated threat for poor sleep well being and related bodily and psychological well being outcomes. Nevertheless, there’s no analysis thus far that examines how medical transition and the usage of gender-affirming hormone remedy impression sleep well being. Jessee Dietch, PhD, who’s an assistant professor of psychology at Oregon State College, will analyze contributors’ sleep utilizing a Fitbit Cost 5. The hope is that the findings will spotlight potential factors for sleep well being intervention that would result in improved wellbeing for a group that’s already at an elevated threat for poor well being outcomes.
Stopping the development of sort 2 diabetes in Latino adults
The causes and issues of sort 2 diabetes (T2D) disproportionately impression Latinos. Motivated by private experiences, Rony F. Santiago, MA, is an early-career researcher at Sansum Diabetes Analysis Institute and manages T2D applications that assist the Santa Barbara group. Rony and his group, in collaboration with researchers at Texas A&M College, goal to recruit wholesome Latino contributors and people with pre-diabetes or T2D who will every obtain a steady glucose monitor and a Fitbit Sense smartwatch. They hope to research bodily exercise, vitamin monitoring and sleep patterns to raised perceive the impression these behaviors can have on blood sugar and the potential to enhance well being outcomes, together with the development from pre-diabetes to T2D.
Investigating how systemic racism impacts maternal and fetal well being
Black and Hispanic pregnant folks expertise increased charges of pregnancy-related mortality compared to their non-Hispanic white counterparts. And Black infants are twice as probably to die inside their first yr of life compared to white infants. Toluwalase Ajayi, MD, pediatrician, palliative care doctor and medical researcher at Scripps Analysis is the principal researcher for this examine, PowerMom FIRST, which is a part of her bigger analysis examine PowerMom. PowerMom FIRST goals to reply questions on how systemic racism and discrimination could have a adverse impression on maternal and fetal well being in these weak populations. On this examine, 500 Black and Hispanic moms will obtain a Fitbit Luxe tracker and Aria Air scale. Researchers will assess participant survey knowledge for well being inequities, disproportionate well being outcomes, disparities in high quality of care, and different components which will affect maternal well being alongside biometric knowledge from Fitbit gadgets. Knowledge, like sleep and coronary heart price, will assist researchers higher perceive the impression that systemic racism skilled by Black and Hispanic pregnant folks could have on their well being.
Constructing wholesome habits in adolescents going through well being disparities
Experiences of trauma, such because the COVID-19 pandemic and social inequity, are linked to poor well being habits amongst marginalized scholar populations. Though there’s a identified relationship between unhealthy habits comparable to bodily inactivity, poor vitamin, and socioeconomic standing, there’s little readability on efficient interventions. Susan Ramsundarsingh, PhD is the Nationwide Director of Analysis at SKY Faculties, which develops evidence-based applications geared toward growing the wellbeing and tutorial efficiency of under-resourced college students. On this examine, researchers will pair Fitbit Encourage 2 gadgets with the SKY Faculty program, which teaches kids social-emotional expertise and resilience to enhance well being and wellbeing by means of instruments like respiration strategies. 600 adolescent college students can be assigned to 3 teams to measure the impression of the interventions on coronary heart price, sleep and bodily exercise through the 2021-22 faculty yr.
Decreasing heart problems threat components in Hispanic households in Colorado
Hispanics have a disproportionately increased prevalence of heart problems threat components relative to non-Hispanic whites, in addition to increased charges of modifiable threat components comparable to diabetes and hypertension. Victoria Bandera, M.S. is an train physiologist and early profession researcher at UCHealth Wholesome Hearts in Loveland, Colo., whose analysis goals to fight well being inequities that impression the Hispanic group. Contributors enrolled within the Wholesome Hearts Household Program will obtain a Fitbit Cost 5 and participate in a 6-month program that features an academic sequence on heart problems dangers, wholesome behaviors and well being screenings. Researchers will encourage contributors, ages 13 and older, to make use of their new Fitbit system to observe and modify their well being behaviors, comparable to consuming habits and bodily exercise. They’ll then analyze modifications in bodily exercise ranges, physique composition and biometric variables to evaluate the impression of the Wholesome Hearts Household Program.
For the previous 14 years at Fitbit, our mission has been to assist everybody world wide stay energetic, more healthy lives, and together with Google, we’re dedicated to utilizing tech to enhance well being fairness. We hope the Fitbit Well being Fairness Analysis Initiative will proceed to encourage wearable analysis and generate new proof and strategies for addressing well being disparities.