Smartwatch prices prove to be a problem for underrepresented groups in medical research, study finds

Smartwatches such as the Apple Watch offer a variety of health functions, including fitness monitoring and blood oxygen monitoring. It’s become a critical part of many people’s lives and has even saved a few. As organizations use the data, it’s becoming an essential research tool.

A new study from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) spotted inequalities within the ownership of smartwatches and wearable technology. According to the study, smartwatch owners tend to be white, wealthy, young and educated.

Researchers conducted the study through the NIH’s All of Us Research Program. This effort is building a health database representative of the United States. The team’s goal is to purposefully include underrepresented groups in medical research.

The study revealed that Fitbit users who submitted their health information directly to their Fitbits were more likely to be from wealthy and whiter backgrounds than those in the other groups. This led the team to survey over 1,000 patients at six Federally Qualified Health Centers to find out why. Some of those team members wrote about this survey in STAT:

[R]espondents who were interested in using an activity monitor made it clear: their lack of use wasn’t because they were unwilling to use devices or contribute the resulting data to research. They cited cost barriers (49%), the need for support in using the devices (19%), and a lack of a clear understanding of the potential value of these devices to their health (16%).

People want smartwatches

About 40% of people who responded identify as Hispanic, 36% as non-Hispanic Black or African American, and 15% as as non-Hispanic white. Sixty-eight percent speak English and 32% speak Spanish. When asked if the participants would like a fitness tracker, 58% responded “yes,” 20% responded “no”, and the rest did not answer.

It’s not that people who don’t fit these measures don’t want smartwatches, it’s that the devices are too expensive. High costs for wearable technology make it difficult to include underrepresented populations in medical research.

As health features continue to come to wearable devices, it’s becoming an important tool in people’s health and medical research. It’s important that more people from underrepresented communities have access to the technology so they can provide better and more detailed data to all.