How can Activity Trackers be Useful? A Scoping Literature Review

Aim: Wearables technology plays an important role in supporting patients in self-management. This study aims to identify the functions and purposes of activity trackers that contribute to and assist in addressing the nursing diagnosis of Sedentary Lifestyle in patients with heart failure. Design: A scoping review was conducted. Depending on the type of study, critical appraisal took place
using PRISMA, CONSORT, STROBE, or SRQR. Methods: A systematic search was performed in CINAHL, MEDLINE/PubMed, and the Cochrane library. Publications from January 2010 through May 2019 were included. The main subjects of the review were the functions and purposes of activity trackers that are used to support heart failure patients who live a sedentary lifestyle. Results: Thirteen articles were used for the analysis. The main feature of an activity tracker is the registration of steps, active/sedentary time, and calories burnt during the day. The following functions were mentioned in the articles: data collection, monitoring/self-monitoring, feedback, goal setting, awareness of own behaviour, motivation, and providing social support through the sharing of data.