Older adults’ awareness, motivation, and behavior changes by wearable activity trackers before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background: Advanced sensor technology, such as commercial wearable activity trackers, is expected to be useful for improving public health in an aging society. However, its effects on psychological and behavioral changes in older adults have not been thoroughly investigated. Objective: This study aimed to clarify the effects of wearable activity trackers on psychological and behavioral changes in older adults before the pandemic and to confirm whether the effects were maintained during the pandemic. Method: Thirty Japanese older adults wearing Fitbit trackers for 12 weeks (i.e., six weeks before the pandemic and six weeks during the onset of the pandemic) in a real-life setting participated in this study. Participants’ perceptions of physical activity (PA) and monitoring were measured weekly using a questionnaire in addition to the pre-monitoring survey (baseline). Results: Significant positive effects of activity trackers were observed on participants’ awareness of the benefits of PA and motivation toward monitoring from the first week, and high levels were maintained until the end of the study, regardless of the pandemic. Accordingly, an approximately 3,000-steps/day increase was observed in the first week and maintained before the pandemic; although PA levels decreased during the onset of the pandemic, they remained higher than at baseline. The decrease in the number of steps and activity calories in COVID-19-non-affected participants was 2%. In the affected participants, an 11% decrease in steps and an 8% decrease in activity calories were observed, indicating that 3% was compensated by other activities. Conclusion: Positive effects of activity trackers were observed on older adults’ awareness of PA benefits. Thus, future studies are required to verify the effects of increased PA benefits awareness on older adults’ long-term activity levels for their health.