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Helpful or Hindrance: Wearable Technology

Department of Nursing, University of Mary

NUR 242: Nursing Fundamentals

October 29, 2021

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Helpful or Hindrance: Wearable Technology

Beep! Beep! Beep! The sound of a wearable monitor alarms the client, it is time to check

their blood pressure. As technology keeps advancing with our world, it has become more

accessible for many people to monitor their health with a wearable device. Within the last

decade, these technological advances have allowed for personalized health information, which

has also led to an increase in the use. Many of these changes in health care technology have been

perceived positively by the client, healthcare worker, health organizations, and the government

(Chau, K. Y., et al., 2019). In many cases, the development of wearable technology tends to

promote more physical activities that then leads to health benefits. A benefit of wearable

technology is that it combines health attributes, along with technological advantages, to provide

products that can track information about the health user in real-time. To fully understand the

idea behind wearable technology, there needs to be an understanding of how it is used, how it

can support clinical decision-making, the security of the client’s information, the benefits and

limitations, and the nurse’s involvement in this technology.

The Widespread Use of Wearable Technology

Wearable technology has become widely used within the last decade. This technology is

becoming a practical way to provide low-cost clinically sensitive data for a more informed

patient assessment (Godfrey, A., et al., 2018). Some of the biggest benefits of wearable

technology is that it is generally small, can be discretely worn in any environment that produces

data, and even integrate into networks used by health care facilities to monitor clients. This

technology can be attached to eyeglasses, earrings, shoes, clothing, watches, or even directly on

the skin. A specific example of the widespread use of wearable technology includes the COVID-

19 pandemic. In this situation, over 30 countries implemented surveillance and contact tracing
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the forms of wearable technology or in smartphone apps (Weizman, Y., A. M., & Fuss, F. K.,

2020).

Since wearable technology can be widespread with its various uses, some of the most

common ways the devices are designed for include weight control, physical activity monitoring,

fall identification and prevention, sports medicine, or mental status monitoring. From a

healthcare perspective, vital signs are the most measured and monitored data in wearable

technology use. Some believe the impact of having vital signs measured through wearable

technology could improve the quality of patient care (Min Wu, PhD. & J. L., PhD. 2021, April

2). The idea behind using wearable technology for fall identification and prevention has become

more popular with an aging population across the globe. There have been many studies that have

been conducted on wearing a device around the waist, wrist, or even the chest to prevent falls, all

of which have been a success. Wearable technology is also used is for weight control and

monitoring, by helping people control calories spent and the level of intensity achieved. Not a lot

of research has been done on this specific use and it is not always very accurate, but the devices

may be a useful stimulus to increase activity rather than tracking for a measurable outcome (Min

Wu, PhD. & J. L., PhD. 2021, April 2). Lastly, wearable technology can improve client

management efficiency in hospitals. The hope is for technology to be used for the earlier

detection of health imbalances. Wireless technology used in wearable technology can promote

self-management abilities by self-monitoring, which in turn could enable greater health

outcomes.

Wearable Technologies Helpful Hand

Wearable technology is crucial for clinical decision-making, error prevention, and care

coordination. It provides help to nurses to make clinical decisions by using technology that can
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efficiently and accurately give data nurses need to plan their care. An example of this is EKG

monitors (Chawla, N. 2020). Nurses can efficiently and accurately see the vitals of their clients.

This helps them quickly detect changes in their clients and allows the nurses to make good

clinical decisions with the help of the EKGs. Other examples of wearable technology that help

clinical decision-making are oximeters, EEGs, and glucose monitors.

Wearable technology can be used to prevent errors in the clinical setting. Certain

wearable technology has been invented so nurses can have a reminder to take vitals or to be

alerted if a person’s blood glucose gets too low or high. Of these two examples, there are many

more that help the nurse succeed at client care.

Care coordination is also deeply tied to wearable technology. For instance, wearable

technology can keep clients engaged in their care and help health care providers monitor

vulnerable clients (Chawla, N. 2020). This is because clients are often able to monitor

themselves in their care with the technology. Health care providers can also use this technology

to coordinate the care of their clients by watching the vital signs or checking the blood glucose

using wearable technology.

Confidentiality of Wearable Technology

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulations are of the

utmost importance when talking about anything in the healthcare field because it outlines the

security for protecting client information. Client confidentiality and data security are the two

realms that we must focus on to be able to use this technology in the workplace (Min Wu, PhD.

& J. L., PhD. 2021, April 2). The companies making the devices are always updating security

protocols, but the privacy of the client will always be at risk (Kapoor, 2020). We also need to be
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aware that they are easily hackable, and if we keep data for a future repour that our client’s

information has a higher risk of being stolen, shared, and not secure anymore.

There are many considerations we must make to protect confidentiality to protect our

client’s health information. Some include keeping the information directly in their electronic

health record or hospital without sending information places, not keeping data for a longer period

than needed, and constantly keeping up with the latest security updates, privacy measures, and

encryption keys. Since the data is shared over WIFI, and being taken using WIFI, security

measures are needed for the WIFI. Namely, secure WBAN communications (Min Wu, PhD. & J.

L., PhD. 2021, April 2). This prevents others from getting ahold of client information. Little

steps to promote security could save a lot of client information from being public.

Benefits and Limitations of Wearable Technology

There are both pros and cons to wearable technology. The benefits of using wearable

technology are its contributions to the wellness of people in societies by monitoring

physiological parameters and health outcomes (Cheung, M. L., et al., 2019, pg. 1). They also aid

in improving the accuracy of health information by providing a better base of the clients’ normal

values. These devices help people develop a better mindset and ability to improve their health

and wellness, which reduces the number of people seeking emergency care and reduces overall

medical costs (Cheung, M. L., et al., 2019, pg. 1). They enable clients to keep track and notify

the medical personnel if certain health values change from their normal.

In contrast, wearable technology is not perfect. Clients need a longer time to adapt to this

technology compared to other technological devices like smartphones (Cheung, M. L., et al.,

2019, pg. 2). We limit the information that needs to be recorded but still ensure the information

obtained is protected and kept confidential. One of the biggest issues is beliefs, health
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interpretation, and cultural practices are not considered when this data is being collected,

allowing for misinterpretations (Cheung, M. L., et al., 2019, pg. 2).

A client’s beliefs about health play a significant role in how useful they view this

technology (Cheung, M. L., et al., 2019, pg. 13). Many people see this type of technology,

specifically Fitbit, apple watch, etc... to be a waste of money. They believe that technology is not

needed to be healthy, or they cannot afford it. Just like monitoring your vital signs and helping

you live a healthier, well-rounded life, wearable technology can improve the safety of both the

person using it and others around them.

A specific example is being developed by NIOSH to improve conditions and safety for

construction workers. They are equipping them with physiological status monitors that collect

outdoor environments, sense potential heat stress, air quality, including carbon monoxide, and

hydrogen sulfide levels, gas leaks, temperature, humidity, and noise (Earnest. S, 2019). The

main safety risk that they are working to prevent are vehicular and “struck by” accidents along

with reducing musculoskeletal disorders, vibration, and potential falls (Earnest. S, 2019). This

type of data is meant to protect people from potential dangers.

Involvement of Healthcare Workers

Nurses are a key part of the development and design of wearable technology. They

provide feedback that manufacturers take into consideration. Take, for example, the new

technology designed to improve posture in hospitals (Bootsman, R.et al., 2019. The

manufacturers for the new posture monitoring technology took nurses' feedback into account

when they made their technology.

Nurses are sometimes free to select the wearable technology they see fit in the workplace.

For example, if a client needs a bed alarm if they are at a fall risk. A nurse can turn the bed alarm
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on, so the client is safer. Implementation of technology is the main part of a nurse’s job. They

are the main people using the different information technologies on the front lines, so their voice

matters.

Evaluation of wearable technology is arguably the most important part. Technology is not

implemented if it is not going to do anything. It is the nurse’s job to evaluate whether the

technologies are functioning properly. Sometimes technologies can malfunction, and this can be

a critical error for some clients. If a glucometer or an insulin pump were to malfunction, it could

have diabetic ketoacidosis or hyperglycemia. Nurses need to be consistently checking the

technology, so it is functioning at full capacity.

Conclusion

Wearable technologies are becoming increasingly popular both for home and work

purposes. Most wearable technology now helps to improve health and wellness, physical

fitness, and mental/emotional states. However, they are creating new ways to help monitor safety

and common risk factors in the population (Earnest, S. 2019). These devices help health care

workers figure out each client’s normal ranges of vital signs, determine their health risks, and

give people abled ways to control and monitor their lifestyles. This information gathered is a

huge personal security issue and people have produced great ways to ensure the protection of

you and your information. Nurses play a huge role in both the security and creation

of a device because they are the ones monitoring this data of clients. The use of these

technologies can help to accomplish better QSEN (Quality and Safety Education for

Nursing) competencies for everyone. Wearable technology allows clients to be the center of care

by use of self-monitoring.
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References

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Chau, K. Y., Lam, M. H. S., Cheung, M. L., Tso, E. K. H., Flint, S. W., Broom, D. R., Tse, G., &

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