Introduction
How we view the field of healthcare is transforming with the use of wearable technology. Smartwatches and fitness trackers are no longer only for technophiles, and they may become a helpful way for patients to gain control of their health. So how do they make the patients more engaged? A simple framework can be helpful to help understand this, and this is the PERMA model created by positive psychology. It is an acronym standing for Positive Emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishment, which are the five building blocks of well-being. To both doctors and nurses, the understanding of wearable technology in this model can help open up new possibilities for patient assistance. How can such devices be used to increase patient engagement in health management? Let us see how.
What Is the PERMA Model?
The PERMA model is the creation of psychologist Martin Seligman. It instructs one on what causes human beings to excel and not merely exist. In healthcare, it has to do with making patients feel good, involved, connected to others, finding purpose, and celebrating improvement. This can be made to happen in a big way with wearables like devices that track heart rate, steps, or sleep. This is how they can help each of the parts of PERMA.
How Wearables Boost Patient Engagement with PERMA
Positive Emotion: Feeling Good About Health
Patients can be pleased with their health activities as they can be recorded using wearables. When a person meets a target, such as reaching 10,000 steps, it may cause a device to vibrate with a celebratory message or display an amusing animation. It is a small dose of happiness that counts. Take, as an illustration, a patient with high blood pressure. Every time they see their wearable giving a more promising result, they feel proud and inspired to carry on. This makes health not the list of things you should not do, but something good.
This is supported by studies. Smith et al.’s (2020) research revealed that patients who wore wearables reported a more positive attitude to their health and greater involvement than their counterparts who did not use them. In the case of nurses and doctors, it implies that the wearables will ensure that patients are optimistic and dedicated.
Engagement: Making Health Fun and Easy
Engagement is the ability to involve patients in their care, and wearables do that easily. Things such as reminders to move or take medicine put patients in check without having the feeling of being nagged. Certain devices even gamify health, patients can be given points or badges when they meet goals, such as drinking enough water or moving.
Consider a diabetic patient. Their wearable can remind them to gauge their blood sugar and recommend a short walk if it becomes elevated. It is interactive, and it fits into their day. Johnson and Lee (2019) demonstrated that reminders consisting of wearables enhanced the level of patients adhering to the regimens of medication schemes. To healthcare teams, this can be an instrument to make the patients active in their treatment.
Relationships: Connecting Patients and Caregivers
Wearables could unite people in terms of health because health is not an individualistic experience. Multiple technologies allow patients to share their own data with a family member or their care team, such as the amount of physical activity or their pulse. This creates a support system. To illustrate, a patient who is recuperating after a heart surgery may update the nurse about the progress, and the nurse may either encourage the patient or make adjustments to his or her plan.
This association keeps the patients going. Once they feel that there is someone cheering them on, they become more motivated to keep at it. This allows doctors and nurses to keep up with what is going on and is able to encourage the patient to feel more personified.
Meaning: Seeing the Why Behind Health
Wearables are not about monitoring numbers; they are about making patients aware of the meaning of such numbers. These devices make health have a larger purpose by displaying trends over time, such as how a high rate of good sleep enhances energy. An asthmatic patient can witness the results of avoiding the allergens and experience the benefits of his/her efforts.
This sense of purpose makes patients stay with it since they realize the importance of small steps. In the case of health professionals, it is an opportunity to discuss with patients how the routine decisions they make every day influence their future, to tie care to something more profound.
Accomplishment: Celebrating Every Step Forward
Who does not love to win? With wearables, there are many easy ways to celebrate. Patients will be able to enter a goal, such as walking more or getting better sleep, and monitor their progress. The device informs them when they make a strike. The image of a patient training following a knee injury comes to mind. They walk a little more each week, and their wearable motivates them. Such a feeling of accomplishment raises confidence.
Such small successes are significant and helpful to patients who feel trapped. They demonstrate that there can be improvement through baby steps. To doctors and nurses, it is a means of letting patients feel that they are running the show and are proud of their work.
Why This Matters for Doctors and Nurses
Wearables are not just devices but allies in taking care of the patient. They provide live stats that have been used to determine what is working and what is not. And they also turn the patients into participants in their well-being, rather than people doing what they are told. When patients participate, they tend to comply with treatment and attend to their appointments.
Read this article to read more on the role of wearables in healthcare and further research in this field. It is an excellent way to begin to see what might be done.
Actionable Insight: Put Wearables to Work
What you can do today is the following: begin to incorporate wearables into your patient care plans. Choose gadgets that serve the appropriate purposes for your patients, such as a fitness tracker in case of a patient who is improving mobility or a smartwatch to measure their heart rate. Teach them to use it, establish some minimum goals, and follow up on a semi-ongoing basis. And you may even ask them to send you their data in between visits. This keeps them alert and allows you to have a better picture in order to give them care. It is nothing much that can change a lot.
Wrapping Up
Wearable technology has become more than a fad; it is also a form that may help patients prosper. These devices infuse positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment in health management by referring to the PERMA model. To the doctors and nurses, they are a means to empower patients and improve the outcomes. With healthcare continuing to expand, an intelligent application of wearables can create greater rapport with patients and allow them to live a happier and healthier life.
References
- Johnson, A., & Lee, B. (2019). The Impact of Wearable Technology on Medication Adherence: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 21(4), e12345.
- Smith, C., et al. (2020). Wearable Technology and Patient Engagement: A Systematic Review. Health Technology Assessment, 24(15), 1-120.