The use of self-monitoring modalities to promote health behavior among adults: A cross-sectional survey

Background: U.S. adults experience challenges in performing and sustaining healthy behaviors to improve their cardiovascular health. Self-monitoring modalities may facilitate these lifestyle changes. Therefore, the objective of this cross-sectional study was to examine the use of self-monitoring modalities and the association between the use of multiple self-monitoring modalities and participants’ population characteristics and health behaviors and status. Methods: Data was drawn for the Health Information National Trends Survey 5, Cycle 1. The study included 3,285 U.S. adults, 18 years or older. Descriptive statistics examined the use of the different types of self-monitoring modalities. Binary and ordered logistic regression analyses examined the relationship between types of self-monitoring modalities and participants’ population characteristics and health behaviors and status. Tableau Software was used to illustrate study results. Results: The average age of participants was 54.3 years. Smartphone/tablet users were more likely to have completed college (45.28%) compared to electronic monitoring device (EMD) users (41.06%) and online medical record users (34.04%). Among smartphone/tablet users, participants had significantly higher odds of consuming more > 4 cups of fruits/vegetables than 4 cups of fruits/vegetables compared to participants who consumed 150 minutes/week. Further research is warranted to understand how to utilize population characteristics and health behavior and status to promote the efficacy of self-monitoring.