Russell Marta, Cain Erin, Bazzano Lydia, De Anda Ileana, Woo Jessica G, Urbina Elaine M
The Heart Institute, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, United States.
Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, 3333 Burnet Ave, MLC 7002, Cincinnati, OH, 45220, United States, 1 513-636-8265.
JMIR Hum Factors. 2025 Jun 18;12:e71103. doi: 10.2196/71103.
The use of individual wearable devices or internet-based applications to collect biometric data from research participants is popular, but several devices may be needed to replace a full set of research measurements.
In this study, we assessed the feasibility of a "Virtual Home Clinic" within the context of long-term epidemiologic studies.
Participants from 3 study cohorts were recruited. Devices were sent to the home to measure anthropometrics, resting metabolic rate, blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), heart rhythm, oxygen saturation, glucose, total cholesterol, physical activity, diet, sleep duration or quality, and arterial stiffness over the course of 1 week. Stool and saliva were also self-collected for microbiome, DNA, and cotinine. Feasibility and acceptability of collecting measurements using home devices were assessed.
A total of 134 participants were enrolled (87% female, 31% Black; mean age 54.2, SD 8.4 years). Furthermore, 91% (N=122) performed at least one of the home tests. At least two-thirds of participants were able to complete all of the requested readings for glucose, electrocardiogram, BP, diet record, and resting metabolic rate. The scale that measured weight, body composition, and pulse wave velocity (PWV) was more difficult to use (113/134, 84% participants recorded at least one weight and 84/134, 63% recorded a PWV). The device to measure total cholesterol was least successful (32/134, 24% participants completed all readings, 72/134, 54% provided at least one result). Return of biospecimens was highly successful (115/134, 86% returned saliva and 113/134, 84% returned stool). Of 95 who responded to the user acceptability survey, 38 (40%) participants preferred home assessment, 36 (38%) preferred clinic, and 21 (22%) did not have a preference. The mean user acceptability score across devices for ease of use was 4.3 (SD 1.0), for instructions was 4.5 (SD 0.7), and for time to use was 3.9 (SD 1.1; scale of 1-5, with higher scores indicating greater acceptability). The study team documented several regulatory or IT, connectivity or account, data retrieval, and logistical issues encountered during the study.
Despite several complications involved with managing multiple devices and applications, most of the components of the virtual home clinic were reasonably feasible and acceptable to participants.
使用个人可穿戴设备或基于互联网的应用程序从研究参与者那里收集生物特征数据很普遍，但可能需要几种设备才能替代全套研究测量。
在本研究中，我们评估了“虚拟家庭诊所”在长期流行病学研究背景下的可行性。
招募了来自3个研究队列的参与者。将设备送到家中，在1周的时间内测量人体测量学指标、静息代谢率、血压（BP）、心率（HR）、心律、血氧饱和度、血糖、总胆固醇、身体活动、饮食、睡眠时间或质量以及动脉僵硬度。还自行采集粪便和唾液用于微生物组、DNA和可替宁检测。评估了使用家用设备进行测量的可行性和可接受性。
共招募了134名参与者（87%为女性，31%为黑人；平均年龄54.2岁，标准差8.4岁）。此外，91%（N = 122）的参与者至少进行了一项家庭测试。至少三分之二的参与者能够完成葡萄糖、心电图、血压、饮食记录和静息代谢率的所有要求读数。测量体重、身体成分和脉搏波速度（PWV）的秤使用起来更困难（113/134，84%的参与者记录了至少一次体重，84/134，63%记录了PWV）。测量总胆固醇的设备成功率最低（32/134，24%的参与者完成了所有读数，72/134，54%提供了至少一个结果）。生物样本的返还非常成功（115/134，86%返还了唾液，113/134，84%返还了粪便）。在95名回复用户可接受性调查的参与者中，38名（40%）更喜欢家庭评估，36名（38%）更喜欢诊所评估，21名（22%）没有偏好。所有设备在易用性方面的平均用户可接受性评分为4.3（标准差1.0），在说明书方面为4.5（标准差0.7），在使用时间方面为3.9（标准差1.1；评分范围为1 - 5，分数越高表示可接受性越高）。研究团队记录了研究过程中遇到的几个监管或信息技术、连接或账户、数据检索和后勤问题。
尽管管理多个设备和应用程序存在一些复杂性，但虚拟家庭诊所的大多数组件对参与者来说都是合理可行且可接受的。
