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. •Current daily activity monitors provide consumers with a variety of measures (eg, number of steps taken, distance traveled, heart rate, sleep, and calories consumed) and functions (watch, alarms, smart watch, and Web page support) that could benefit patient populations.•This technology is evolving with new devices and capabilities emerging rapidly.•Ideal activity monitors should be sturdy, user-friendly, compatible with health promotion Web sites, interoperable with personal health records, and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act compliant.•Future research is needed about benefits or risks of daily activity monitor use in patient populations.