Can Patient Use of Daily Activity Monitors Change Nurse Practitioner Practice?

Expanding markets of empowered health care consumers have spurred entrepreneurs to develop innovative fitness devices designed to be worn on a daily basis. The purpose of this article is to discuss challenges, usability, and privacy issues and highlight physiological and psychological parameters of 5 common fitness devices for clinical use in advanced practice. Nurse practitioners can educate patients on the use of these devices for health promotion or therapeutic interventions to foster self-management of chronic conditions, such as diabetes and obesity. Future research on clinical applications of activity monitors is needed with large samples representing diverse populations.