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Experiences of Rural-Dwelling Children Wearing Physical Activity Trackers: An Exploratory Study
Katy Bray1,2, Mengyuan Hao1, Veronica Lelo1
1Kinesiology Department, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA.
Children (Basel, Switzerland)
|September 28, 2024
Summary
Wearable physical activity (PA) trackers are acceptable for rural children, but may influence behavior. Findings inform developing effective rural health promotion programs and evaluation plans.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health
- Public Health
- Health Promotion
Background:
- Rural communities require evidence-based physical activity programs.
- Evaluating these programs is challenging due to access barriers and unsuitable measurement tools.
- This study focuses on the experiences of rural children using PA trackers.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore rural children's day-to-day experiences with wrist-worn physical activity (PA) trackers.
- To inform the development of a health promotion program for rural youth.
- To understand the feasibility of using PA trackers in rural settings.
Main Methods:
- Ten caregiver-child dyads (n=20) participated.
- Children wore accelerometers pre- and post-intervention.
- Semi-structured interviews with caregivers and children were conducted and analyzed for themes.
Main Results:
- Children (mean age 8.7 years) found trackers acceptable, though they may have altered behavior (e.g., checking step counts).
- Factors influencing device wear included low caregiver burden, watch functionality, and interactivity.
- Caregivers preferred activity monitoring without location tracking.
Conclusions:
- Acceptable and feasible strategies for measuring physical activity are crucial for effective rural health promotion.
- Lessons learned can guide the development of evaluation plans for rural PA programming.
