Abstract
Patient-centred healthcare lies at the core of health and social services, where individuals are recognised and encouraged to take an active role in their care. As technology advances, it is important to keep abreast of how emerging technologies are affecting patient-centred healthcare. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of smartwatches on patient-centred healthcare. To achieve this, the study assessed the effect of features of smartwatches on Picker’s eight principles of patient-centred healthcare. The sample for this study was 141 participants who were part of a running club based in the Gauteng province of South Africa who use smartwatches. The findings revealed that the activity tracking feature of a smartwatch has a moderate impact on emotional comfort and coordination and integration of care. Similarly, the vital signs monitoring feature has a moderate effect on the continuity and transition of care, while the data management feature demonstrated a moderate effect on the coordination and integration of care. Moreover, the activity tracking feature of a smartwatch has the strongest effect on the coordination and integration of care, while vital signs monitoring has the strongest effect on the continuity and transition of care. Findings from the study, notwithstanding their limitations, can assist healthcare providers to make informed decisions on which features of smartwatches they should focus on when promoting the use of wearables to provide patient-centred healthcare.
Recommended Citation
Ndhlovu, Patson; Maguraushe, Kudakwashe; Ndayizigamiye, Patrick; and Idemudia, Efosa Carroll, "The effect of smartwatch features on patient-centred healthcare" (2023). ACIS 2023 Proceedings. 19.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/acis2023/19