Leveraging digital technology to support fitness, health, and well-being
Our May 2023 Living Well Workshop featured Erica Schorr, PhD, RN, talking about the rapidly expanding constellation of digital devices to support fitness, health, and well-being. The most widely used devices are “wearables” for self-monitoring. Schorr, an associate professor in the U of M School of Nursing, reviewed the different types of devices in this category, including basic activity trackers, smartwatches, GPS devices, and physiological monitors.
Schorr pointed out that self-monitoring devices vary widely in price and features, and can be used to monitor many things, including physical activity, sedentary time, sleep, blood oxygen, blood sugar, and skin temperature. Wearable electrocardiogram monitors track heart activity and transmit the information to the wearer’s doctor. As a consumer, you should think carefully about what you want the devices to do and how much you will use them. As a user, you should put readings into context and not make too much of a single reading, she said.
Context is an important feature of another class of equipment: remote patient monitoring devices. These can give your medical team important information over time that can’t be captured in the office or short hospital stays. A good example is remote blood pressure monitoring, which is especially helpful for those who have “white coat syndrome” that causes their blood pressure to shoot up whenever they’re in a doctor’s office. Remote monitoring devices can also help in accidents. For example, there are bicycle helmets that, upon impact, will contact 911 and transmit location information.
CVD App Study
Current trends in wearable technology include miniaturization, improved aesthetics, and “apps” that manage different streams of information. Schorr, herself, is currently conducting research using Apple watches and an iPhone app to improve cardiovascular disease (CVD) self-management through education and lifestyle changes.
All adults with a diagnosis of CVD (e.g., heart attack, heart failure, etc.) are eligible to participate in the six-month study that aims to increase daily physical activity levels and improve medication adherence to reduce the risk of a future heart attack or stroke for individuals with CVD. To learn more about the CVD App Study, you can contact Schorr by email at [email protected].
—Ron Matross, UMRA president
Leveraging digital technology to support health and wellness
Tue, May 16 2023, 11am
Erica Schorr, PhD, RN
Associate Professor, School of Nursing
University of Minnesota
Event to be held via Zoom.
Digital technology has come to the field of health in a big way. There is now a plethora of wearable devices to monitor nearly every aspect of your body’s functioning, plus Bluetooth and other wireless technologies, including voice and text messaging, to support the achievement of optimal health and wellness.
UMRA’s May 16 workshop via Zoom will discuss how to select and use these digital health technologies to support your health and fitness goals. Attendees will learn about wearable and other health-monitoring devices (such as Apple, Fitbit, and Garmin smartwatches, plus blood pressure and blood sugar monitors) and how to choose the best ones for you.
We will also discuss the information that digital health devices can provide, the strengths and limitations, and the possibilities for the future of digital health technologies.
Erica Schorr, PhD, RN, an associate professor in the University of Minnesota School of Nursing (SON), will be our guest presenter. She has expertise in designing and testing exercise-based interventions that utilize mobile health technologies to assist individuals to adopt and sustain healthy behaviors, manage disease-related symptoms, reduce cardiovascular disease risk, and improve overall health and health-related quality of life.
Schorr serves as chair of the SON Research Committee and was named to an endowed professorship in the school in 2022. She is a fellow of the American Heart Association (AHA) and chair and first author of a 2021 AHA scientific statement on using mobile health technologies for secondary cardiovascular disease prevention in older adults. She is also co-author of an AHA scientific statement on physical activity as a critical component of first-line treatment for elevated blood pressure or cholesterol, and of an AHA science advisory on digital technologies in cardiac rehabilitation.
Please register for this free Zoom webinar and join us at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, May 16.
—Ron Matross, UMRA president
Upcoming Events
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) has attracted substantial debate recently because it can be used in many contexts, including educational settings to do things such as answer exam questions and write papers. But what is generative AI? And how can we know if it’s a good thing or a bad thing? Law School Professor Daniel Schwarcz will enlighten us during UMRA’s Luncheon Forum on April 23.
UMRA’s spring Armchair Traveler Program from 10 to 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, April 24, will take us to South Korea with Marilyn DeLong and to Germany with Lynn C. Anderson. Please mark your calendars and save the date.
Silk Parachute, an anthology of essays and the 40th of 44 published books by author John McPhee, will be the topic of discussion when UMRA’s Fourth Friday Book Club meets via Zoom from 2 to 3:30 p.m. CDT on April 26.
We are fortunate to have Peter Moe, UMRA member and former Minnesota Landscape Arboretum director, to lead this approximately 3.7-mile hike at the Arboretum on Monday, May 6! Plan to have lunch together after the hike at the Eatery café inside the Oswald Visitor Center.
This session will continue the discussion begun in the May 8, 2023 session. See that article for details.
If you currently live in your own home or apartment, have you looked ahead to when you might want to consider a senior living option? Do you have any idea what those options might be? How much they cost? What they provide? UMRA’s May 14 workshop will provide an overview of the world of senior living and the basic information you need.
You’re invited to join the final Family History Interest Group meeting for 2023–24. This will be an opportunity to ask questions related to family history, share insights, talk about recent projects, and suggest topics for next year.
Stephanie Daily will lead the discussion of Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law by best-selling author Mary Roach when the UMRA Book Club meets via Zoom at 2 p.m. on Friday, May 17.
The May 20 hike will start at the Historic Lift Bridge in Stillwater and go along the river to the new bridge, cross over and then back on the Wisconsin side, a total of approximately 5 miles. Most of the route is paved. We will eat lunch after at Brian's Bar and Grill in Stillwater. Car pooling will be available.
Climatologist and meteorologist Mark Seeley joined the U of M faculty in 1978 and has been a weekly commentator on Minnesota Public Radio since 1992. We are honored to welcome him as our guest speaker for UMRA’s May Luncheon Forum and 2024 Annual Meeting. He is always entertaining and informative.
UMRA’s Fourth Friday Book Club welcomes back, for the second time, author Julie Schumacher, U of M Regents professor of creative writing and English, for a conversation about her novel The Shakespeare Requirement.
We are in for a treat on June 3! Lynn Anderson, will lead us on trails at two parks near her Monticello home. Bring a bag lunch and we will gather in Lynn's yard along the Mississippi River for eating and socializing after the hike.
Get out to the ballpark with fellow UMRA members for the annual U of M Day at Target Field as the Minnesota Twins take on the Oakland Athletics on June 14 at 7:10 p.m.
Please join us at 9:30 on June 17, 2024 for a walk around Lake Como in St. Paul before attending the UMRA Summer Social and Picnic starting at 11 at the Como Pavilion. A perfect opportunity to get in a walk before we gather to celebrate summer.
Picnic under the covered, open-air Como pavilion, gaze at the water, spy some birds, catch up with friends and former colleagues, and meet new members. We’ll have lunch with plenty of time for visiting and then compete in teams as we are challenged by our Quiz master(s)!
Healthy aging, mindfulness, fighting ageism, and more will be the focus of the third annual Age-Friendly University Day to be held on the U of M Twin Cities campus.