Evaluating Patient Perceptions of Smartphone Use for Active and Passive Collection of Health Data

Abstract

Background: The objectives of this study are to assess patient willingness to share smartphone generated health data with providers and to characterize patient populations who express hesitation around providing these data to providers. Methods: Bivariate analysis involved unpaired t-test or analysis of variance for comparing continuous variables. An alpha value of 0.05 was used. A multivariable regression to investigate demographic factors associated with comfort with sharing health data was performed. Odds ratios compared participants by age group, educational attainment, and race. Results: A total of 485 participants completed the survey, with an average age of 38 years old. Respondents were 65% male and 73% Caucasian. The majority (70%) of participants were comfortable answering questions about their health on their phone, as well as sending pictures of their health problems or wounds. Over half of participants were comfortable with passive social and physical activity information being sent to their doctor and would allow their doctors to download a data tracking application on their smartphone (55% and 59%, respectively). Younger participants (OR 2.0, P<0.05) and participants with increased education (OR 2.5, P < 0.01) were more likely to be comfortable in sharing their data. Privacy concerns were cited as the most common reason patients desired to refrain from sharing data. Conclusion: Most study participants were comfortable sharing smartphone generated health data.