Smartwatches and Wearable Devices to Revolutionize Mental Health Care
Smartwatches have become increasingly popular among Americans as over one in five Americans wear one, and researchers are investigating how these devices can be used for healthcare applications. Previous studies have shown that smartwatches can detect heart problems such as atrial fibrillation, heart attacks, and even infections such as COVID-19. Now, researchers at the Mount Sinai Hasso Plattner Institute for Digital Health in New York City are exploring how smartwatches can assess a person’s psychological state and monitor their mental health, particularly focusing on psychological resilience.
The Need for Wearable Devices in Mental Health Care
Limited mental health resources and a shortage of mental health care workers have significantly impacted access to and provision of mental health care services in the US. Wearable devices provide a potential solution by collecting data on users’ daily activities and health status, which can significantly improve mental health care access and provision. Wearable devices can also empower users by giving them valuable insight into their own mental health. Zahi Fayad, Ph.D., the director of the Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Engineering at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, explains that measuring mental well-being through smartwatches can help users seek expert consultations, get links to resources, and manage mental health effectively through watch-based or online mental health management tools.
The Study Findings
Robert Hirten, M.D., clinical director of the Hasso Plattner Institute for Digital Health at Mount Sinai, and his colleagues analyzed smartwatch data from 329 people over 14 days, comparing the data to standard measures of resilience, optimism, and emotional support. The researchers used machine learning to assess the user’s resilience and well-being based on their heart rate variability, the small time differences between each heartbeat. The researchers found wearables can detect stress and assess a person’s resilience by measuring heart rate variability and noted that resilience is critical in managing stress.
Implications for Mental Health Care
Smartwatches and wearables have a crucial role to play in mental health care delivery. These devices can assess psychological states, monitor mental health, improve access to care, and empower users. The study also has important implications for chronic disease management, as resilience can help reduce the negative effects of chronic diseases and improve quality of life. While more research is needed to validate the study’s findings, it provides evidence that wearable devices can be used to monitor and care for mental health patients.
Expanding on the Topic
Wearable devices and smartwatches offering remote monitoring solutions have proved to be valuable assets in the healthcare industry. Besides improving access to care, smartwatches have enhanced self-management tools that offer patients access to vital information about their health status and activity levels. This information empowers users to make informed decisions about their health and take an active role in managing their health. Developing data-driven solutions that use mobile and remote monitoring to improve psychological assessment of patients may help enhance the provision of mental health care services in the future, where patients can contact their healthcare providers with the help of a wearable device and receive an on-demand consultation.
For instance, a mental health patient who uses a wearable device can track their mood levels, activity levels, and heart rate to provide their doctor with an insight into their mental health status. This data can help tailor a personalized treatment plan that fits the patient’s needs. Additionally, the wearable devices will track the progress of the patient after the consultation, which can help the healthcare provider alter or modify the treatment plan accordingly.
Moreover, wearables can also give doctors access to accurate, timely, and comprehensive data about their patients’ health. This information can help them identify when a patient needs extra care or attention, enabling them to intervene promptly before the patient’s situation worsens. Overall, wearables offer significant potential for expanding the scope and efficacy of mental health care delivery, revolutionizing the future of healthcare.
In conclusion, wearables are poised to play a crucial role in mental health care delivery, offering essential solutions to overcome the limitations of resources and access to care. These devices empower users with valuable information and insights into their health status while providing healthcare providers with real-time data to offer personalized treatment plans tailored to individual needs. However, in the near future, there is a need for rigorous studies to demonstrate the impact of wearable devices on mental health care delivery, tweak their design for better efficacy, and enhance privacy and safety features.
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June 13, 2023 – If you want to see the future of healthcare, just take a look at your wrist.
As smartwatches and fitness trackers become more popular, some one in five Americans wear one: Scientists are investigating how to use your data for a variety of health applications.
Studies suggest that smartwatches could detect infections like covid-19, in addition to heart problems such as atrial fibrillation and even heart attacks – not to mention falls, seizuresand parkinson’s symptoms. in a small study of 2022Heart rate and step count measurements from fitness trackers were linked to key indicators of kidney and liver function, as well as overall health.
But according to the Mount Sinai researchers, one potential clinical use deserves much more attention: harnessing this technology to monitor people’s mental health.
“Only a few studies have tried to apply wearable devices to the study of psychological conditions,” said Robert Hirten, MD, clinical director of the Hasso Plattner Institute for Digital Health at Mount Sinai in New York City.
Hirten and his colleagues hope to change that. in a recent studyoffer evidence that smartwatches can assess people’s psychological state while monitoring mental health traits such as resilience.
“To our knowledge, there have been no other studies that have evaluated whether psychological resilience can be assessed using wearable devices,” Hirten said.
why does it matter
An often-touted benefit of wearable devices in healthcare is their potential to improve access to care. While traditional methods require a doctor’s visit or lab work, handheld devices collect data as the patient goes about their daily lives, saving them time and money and easing the workload on medical staff.
That’s “especially important” when it comes to mental health, Hirten said, “given limited mental health resources.” data sample we face an overwhelming shortage of mental health care workers, even as rates of mental health conditions like depression they are trending Many people who need help may struggle to pay for it or live in remote areas, she said.
“The hope is that wearable devices can one day be used to complement and assist mental health professionals in caring for patients,” Hirten said.
Not only that, but wearable devices could empower people by giving them valuable insight into their own mental health, says Zahi Fayad, PhD, another study author and director of the Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Engineering at the Icahn School of Medicine in Mount Sinai. “By measuring mental well-being,” he said, “the watch can inform the wearer to seek an expert consultation, provide links to resources, and/or use watch-based or online mental health management tools.” .
What the study showed
The researchers analyzed smartwatch data from 329 people over 14 days and compared that data to standard measures of resilience, optimism, and emotional support (the support one receives from one’s social ties). These factors are related to psychological well-being, improved mood and reduced depression, the study notes.
Using a type of artificial intelligence called machine learning, the researchers were able to assess a person’s resilience and well-being based on their heart rate variability, the small time differences between each heartbeat.
Resilience helps you adjust and adapt to change, especially in stressful situations, Hirten said. It is crucial for stress management, an important part of mental health.
“Our study shows that wearable devices can be harnessed for stress detection and resilience assessment,” Fayad said. “Understanding our state of stress could help us implement practical tools to manage our psychological well-being and build resilience.”
Why Heart Rate Variability?
Our heart rate variability reflects activity in the autonomic nervous system, “the part of the nervous system that controls the body beyond our conscious control,” Hirten said. When he’s stressed, rushing to finish a big work project, fighting with his partner, or experiencing pain, his autonomic nervous system kicks into gear, causing changes in heart rate and heart rate variability.
The variation tends to be smaller when you are stressed and larger when you are relaxed. previous research showssuggesting that people with high heart rate variability may be more resilient.
This study builds on that hypothesis and provides evidence that wearable devices can be used to predict a person’s resilience, as well as an aggregate score of their resilience, optimism and emotional support, the researchers said.
The future of smartwatches in healthcare
A big goal of this research is to help mental health providers monitor and care for their patients, Hirten said. But it could also be used “to monitor response to psychological interventions” so that providers can more quickly and accurately assess how well a treatment is working and adjust if necessary.
It could also have implications for chronic disease management. “Resilience is an important psychological characteristic in the management of chronic diseases,” said Hirten. ongoing investigation suggests that resilience could help reduce the negative effects of chronic diseases and improve quality of life.
Still, more research is needed to validate these findings before they can be put to any clinical use, Hirten said. The researchers plan to conduct studies in other patient populations to further refine the algorithm.
https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/news/20230613/could-smartwatches-solve-the-mental-health-crisis?src=RSS_PUBLIC
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