Sharing Is Caring
People who track their health with wearable devices and smartphone apps say they’re willing to share that data with medical and public health researchers. Just make sure the info stays anonymous, says a new study from the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology. (The study had some funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.) Researchers say they also want to get access to self-tracking health data to fill in gaps in more traditional clinical data collection. The five most common health conditions tracked by people are exercise, diet, weight, athletic activity, and sleep. NIH behavioral and social sciences associate director Robert Kaplan says bringing the laboratory to the person in their own environment makes it easier to learn about behavior in everyday life.
