Compliance and technical feasibility of long-term health monitoring with wearable and ambient technologies.

We developed a system consisting of both wearable and ambient technologies designed to monitor personal wellbeing for several months during daily life. The variables monitored included bodyweight, blood pressure, heart-rate variability and air temperature. Two different user groups were studied: there were 17 working-age subjects participating in a vocational rehabilitation programme and 19 elderly people living in an assisted living facility. The working-age subjects collected data for a total of 1406 days; the average participation period was 83 days (range 43-99). The elderly subjects collected data for a total of 1593 days; the average participation period was 84 days (range 19-107). Usage, technical feasibility and usability of the system were also studied. Some technical and practical problems appeared which we had not expected such as thunder storm damage to equipment in homes and scheduling differences between staff and the subjects. The users gave positive feedback in almost all their responses in a questionnaire. The study suggests that the data-collection rate is likely be 70-90% for typical health monitoring data.

Relationship of psychological and physiological variables in long-term self-monitored data during work ability rehabilitation program.

Individual wellness comprises both psychological and physiological wellbeing, which are interrelated. In long-term monitoring of wellness, both components should be included. Work-related stress and burnout are persistent problems in industrial countries. Early identification of work-related stress symptoms and early intervention could reduce individual suffering and improve the working productivity and creativity. The goal of this study was to explore the relationship between physiological and psychological variables measured at home by the users themselves or automatically. In all, 17 (3 males and 14 females, age 40-62) people participating in a work ability rehabilitation program (due to work overload) were monitored for three months. Physiological and behavioral variables (activity, bed occupancy, heart rate (HR) and respiration during night, HR during day, blood pressure, steps, weight, room illumination, and temperature) were measured with different unobtrusive wireless sensors. Daily self-assessment of stress, mood, and behaviors (exercise, sleep) were collected using a mobile phone diary. The daily self-assessment of stress and the Derogatis stress profile questionnaire were used as reference for stress status. Results show modest, but significant pooled overall correlations between self-assessed stress level, and physiological and behavioral variables (e.g., sleep length measured with wrist-worn activity monitor: rho = -0.22, p < 0.001, and variance of nightly bedroom illumination: rho = 0.13, p < 0.001). Strong, but sometimes conflicting correlations can be found at individual level, suggesting individual reactions to stress in daily life.