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
Our July 15 "hike" is going to be a kayaking adventure on Bde Maka Ska (formerly Lake Calhoun) and Lake of the Isles! If you don't have a kayak (or paddleboard), Wheel Fun Rentals, located next to the new concession stand rents single kayaks at $15 an hour and double kayaks at $25. The second hour is free if we rent before noon. Life jackets are provided with the rental.
Laura Ericksen will lead the discussion of How Stella Learned to Talk by Christina Hunger, a true story by a speech-language pathologist who taught her dog, Stella, to communicate using buttons associated with different words.
Our August 5 hike will be a reprise of our hike last summer at William O'Brien State Park. This is a beautiful park with a winding trail and a great view of the countryside. The hike is about 5.5 to 6 miles and we'll go at a moderate pace with frequent water breaks. After the hike, we will eat lunch at Rustic Roots Winery, a half mile north of the park.
Kathy Cramer will lead the discussion of The Bookbinder by Pip Williams, a book set in 1914 Oxford chronicling the life of Peggy who works in the University bindery, but craves a life beyond binding books but to being a scholar herself.
Enjoy a two-hour cruise on the Jonathan Padelford, leaving from the Harriet Island dock in St. Paul, boarding time at 5:30 p.m. We will have a brief program on board by Patrick Nunnally from the River Life Program of the Institute on the Environment.
August 31 is the due date for annual reports and updates. Annual Reports, Toolkits, web page updates, operating document updates and archives collections are all due each year on this date.
Autumn is a wonderful season in Minnesota so plan to join UMRA at the Andersen Horticultural Library at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. Kristen Mastel, head librarian and curator, will reveal its treasure trove of publications and artifacts relating to plant history, horticulture, and natural history. After the tour, those who are interested may stay to eat lunch together, sitting outside if the weather is nice. Later, you are invited to a one-hour tram tour of the entire Arboretum that includes natural areas of flowering shrubs, bogs, and forests, family garden and landscaping showpieces, and the red barn farm
After a summer break the UMRA Photo Club will next meet September 10, 2024 in the meeting room of the Hennepin County St. Anthony Branch Library. For those interested in lunch, meet at the Great Dragon at 11:30 am. For September the THEME will be Curves
We will continue to discuss the pros and cons of Medicare Advantage. You will also hear about notable non-health plan and non-broker resources.