From health to performance. Amateur runners’ personal health information management with activity tracking technology

Pages217-240
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/AJIM-07-2018-0170
Published date18 March 2019
Date18 March 2019
AuthorYuanyuan Feng,Denise E. Agosto
Subject MatterLibrary & information science,Information behaviour & retrieval,Information & knowledge management,Information management & governance,Information management
From health to performance
Amateur runnerspersonal health information
management with activity tracking technology
Yuanyuan Feng
Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, and
Denise E. Agosto
College of Computer and Informatics, Drexel University, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, USA
Abstract
Purpose Building on theoretical foundation of personal information management (PIM) in information
science, this paper seeks to understand how activity tracker users manage their personal health information
generated by their devices and to elucidate future activity tracking technology in support of personal health
information management (PHIM). This paper aims to discuss this issue.
Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted a web survey study with a specific group of
activity tracker users amateur runners. This survey collected both quantitative and qualitative data on
participantsengagement with activity tracking technology, their PHIM practices with the information
generated by the technology and how their needs were being met by their activity tracking technology use
and PHIM practices.
Findings Amateur runners surveyed in this study exhibit long-term engagement and frequent interaction
with activity tracking technology. They also engage in PHIM practices by using a range of PHIM tools and
performing various PHIM activities. Furthermore, they use activity tracking technology and engage in PHIM
practices to meet various health/fitness-related needs and information needs, while some of these needs such
as performance needs and overarching needs are only partially met or unmet.
Originality/value This research discusses amateur runners as power users of activity tracking
technology, provides timely updates to PIM and PHIM research in light of a new type of personal health
information, and generates design considerations for future activity tracking technology in support of PHIM.
It also brings together previously disparate research regarding everyday life PHIM in information science,
humancomputer interaction and health informatics.
Keywords Information behaviour, Personal information management, Humancomputer interaction,
Activity tracking technology, Personal health information management, Runners
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
Regular physical activity is key to both the prevention and the treatment of lifestyle
diseases such as cardiovascular diseases (Chomistek et al., 2015) and type 2 diabetes
(Sigal et al., 2006). It also helps improve peoples mental health and life quality
(US Department of Health and Human Services, 1996). As a fundamental component of
modern healthy lifestyle, being physically active is socially praised. As a result, there are
growing interests in consumer-facing mobile and wearable technologies that promise to help
people become or stay physically active. On top of the list is activity trackers, defined as
a wearable device or a computer application that records a persons daily physical activity,
together with other data relating to their fitness or health, such as the number of calories
burned, heart rate, etc.(Oxford Living Dictionaries, 2018). Activity tracker ownership has
become undeniably significant, as The International Data Corporation (2018) estimated that
more than 115m wearable devices were shipped to worldwide markets in 2017, yet this
figure excludes widely owned smartphones with embedded activity tracking functions.
In this paper, activity trackersrefer to all fitness wristbands, smartphones and
smartwatches with the functionality to track usersdaily physical activity. This research also
covers mobile and wearable health/fitness applications, which enable users to access ormanage
Aslib Journal of Information
Management
Vol. 71 No. 2, 2019
pp. 217-240
© Emerald PublishingLimited
2050-3806
DOI 10.1108/AJIM-07-2018-0170
Received 15 July 2018
Revised 2 November 2018
11 December 2018
Accepted 17 December 2018
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/2050-3806.htm
217
Personal
health
information
management
the data generated by activity trackers. Hence, we use the umbrella term activity tracking
technologyto represent the totality of activity trackers and related health/fitness applications.
In this research, we use Jones(2007, 2012) theoretical framework of personal information
management (PIM) to investigate how activity tracker users manage their personal health
information generated by their devices. This is a research topic rarely examined by existing
activity tracker user research in information science and humancomputer interaction, as
current foci are user interaction with activity tracking technology (Anderson et al., 2007;
Consolvo et al., 2008), user adoption of the technology (Asimakopoulos et al., 2017; Shih et al.,
2015) and persuasive technology designs to support behavior changes (Consolvo et al., 2009;
Fritz et al., 2014).
We focus on activity tracker users who are also amateur runners because existing
activity tracker user research often examined user behaviors of the general population (Fritz
et al., 2014; Shih et al., 2015). Little research attention has been paid to specific groups of
activity tracker users, yet different groups of people have diverse health/fitness needs and
exhibit very different practices with their personal health information (Feng et al., 2017;
Rapp and Tirabeni, 2018). In this paper, amateur runnersrefer to those who regularly
participate in running exercises, ranging from casual runners to more trained athletes.
By addressing PIM with a specific group of activity tracker users, this research
contributes new knowledge to human interactions with a new type of personal information,
generates implications to improve activity tracking technology and brings together
previously disparate research areas in information science, humancomputer interaction
and health informatics.
2. Related work
This section reviews relevant literature to outline how this research builds on extant work in
personal health information management (PHIM), PIM and activity tracker user research.
2.1 Expanded boundary: personal health information management (PHIM)
PHIM is an area in health informatics research that primarily examines personal health
information such as electronic health records and personal health records in healthcare
settings (Archer et al., 2011; Burrington-Brown et al., 2008; Hoerbst and Ammenwerth, 2010).
Since traditional personal health information is medical in nature and often resides in
information systems of healthcare organizations (e.g. clinics, hospitals), existing PHIM
research oftenemphasized medical informationand patient communication (Prattet al., 2006).
Informationsystems researchers have also exploredways to optimize PHIM systems for both
healthcare providers and patients, including patient portals (Turner et al., 2015) and referral
systems (Wang et al., 2004) to support patientsPHIM. However, with the increasing
popularity of activity tracking technology, the scope of personal health information has
extendedto the non-medical sphere, where peoplehave access to a new type of personal health
information generated by their own activitytrackers. This research extends the boundary of
traditional PHIM by examining how people interact with this new type of personal health
information outsideof healthcare settings. Traditional PHIM research is patientcentered and
focuses on information technologies that assist patients with their healthcare needs. Recent
activity tracker-related researchalso addressed how activity trackingtechnology can support
health interventions for patients with lifestyle diseases, such as obesity, type 2 diabetes and
cardiovascular conditions (Chiauzzi et al., 2015; Lewis et al., 2015). Less work has focused on
studying non-patient everyday life PHIM, which is a significant aspect of proactive health
informatics aiming at preventing lifestyle diseases among the general public. This research
also expands the population boundary of existing PHIM research by examining non-patient
activity tracker users through the lens of amateur runners.
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