NExUS
NExUS is a prospective electronic-cohort study that aims to assess patient perspectives regarding the use of smartwatches for remote monitoring of activity, sleep, heart rate, and rhythm. Additionally, it seeks to identify the medical, environmental, and psychosocial factors that may influence the onset and progression of a number of chronic medical conditions through mobile health apps-based surveys.
The study is structured as two major phases:
Phase I: Initial patient identification and administration of an initial cross-sectional digital survey.
Participants will be identified using UMass Memorial Health’s electronic medical record. They will be asked to participate if have had a recent interaction with the health system as an inpatient or outpatient and have either a diagnosis of atrial fibrillation or an elevated risk of developing atrial fibrillation, defined as a CHA2DS2-VASc score >2. Information collected from this digital survey will provide an understanding of participants’ demographics as well as their perspectives on commercially available wearable devices and their willingness to download an app to continue to provide information about their health and behavior.
Phase II: Longitudinal follow-up.
A prospective electronic cohort will be created of participants from Phase I who express interest in continuing in the study. Phase II participants will use an app to respond to questionnaires at regular intervals and share health data from their wearable device over a period of two and a half years. Ultimately, we hope to track trends in physical and psychosocial factors that could be linked to new or worsening diseases.
