Abstract 15214: The Benefits of Wearable Physical Activity Tracking Devices and Wellness Initiatives

Introduction: The recommended amount of physical activity (PA) for adults is 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous activity(1). 33% of the adults meet the appropriate amount of weekly PA (2). The health benefits of regular PA include a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, certain cancers, depression, and early death. The healthcare expenses of physical inactivity are nearly 79 billion annually in the United States. Wearable PA tracking devices can motivate people to be active and improve their overall wellness. Wearable devices like Fitbit, Garmin, and smartwatches can track activity progress and participation in wellness initiatives.

Hypothesis: Increasing PA among employees and members within the Health Plan by implementing incentivized challenges that promote PA tracking, provide behavior change techniques, and grow the number of connected wearable devices.

Methods: Through our proprietary database, data was collected from the UPMC Health Plan Health Risk Assessment questionnaire showing members (average n=52,165) participating in PA year over year compared to the national average from 2015-2021 and connected devices from 2015-2021.

Results: The questionnaire revealed 150+ minutes of aerobic PA percent from year to year for 2015 (35%), 2016 (35%), 2017(37%), 2018 (32%), 2019 (36%), 2020 (38%), and 2021 (33%); all the years were above the national average percent except 2018 by offering accessible physical activity challenges. The number of connected devices increased from 3,729 in 2015 to 15,473 in 2021, which was a 296% increase year over year by providing convenient ways to connect devices.

Conclusions: Wearable tracking devices in conjunction with wellness initiatives that incorporate incentives, influence behavior change and increase minutes of PA. Continuing to offer PA wellness programs will support the goals of our evaluation of member behavior and participation. Future directions include enhancing wellness initiatives and wearable devices providing a high-value strategy for sustained PA behavior change.