Using mobile sensors to expand recording of physical activity and increase motivation for prolonged data sharing in a population-based study

Abstract

Regularly conducted population cohort studies contribute important new knowledge to medical research. A high participation rate is required in these types of studies in order to claim representativeness and validity of study results. Participation rates are declining worldwide, and re-searchers are challenged to develop new data collection strategies and tools to motivate people to participate. The last years of advances in sensor and mobile technology, and the widespread use of activity trackers and smart watches, have made it possible to privately collect physical activity data, in a cheap, easy and prolonged way. The unstructured way of collecting this data can have other applications than just showing users their activity trends. In this paper, we describe our plans for how to use these pervasive sensors as new tools for collecting data on physical activity, in a way that can motivate participants to share more information, for a longer time period and with a renewed motivation to participate in a population study.