Activity & Wellness Resource Center

Connected health programs can facilitate patient self-management and encourage consumers to take a more active role in their health. Real-time access to personal health data and targeted patient education encourages healthy lifestyle decisions and wellness efforts.  Patient self-management programs, utilizing connected health technologies, are being applied to a number of mounting health crises, including obesity, hypertension and diabetes.

Center for Connected Health Initiatives

Step Up: Virtual Coach

This randomized controlled trial measured the effect of personalized feedback and motivational coaching, via the Virtual Coach computer avatar, on adherence to an activity regime.

Partners Step It Up

This program incorporates activity tracking using a pedometer, educational feedback relating to their activity, and a fun team-oriented foot race.

2 Comments

Texting for Steps

A new text-messaging program will promote good health and nutrition, and incorporate tracking of students' daily activity using a wireless pedometer.

Center for Connected Health Initiatives

Step Up: Virtual Coach

This randomized controlled trial measured the effect of personalized feedback and motivational coaching, via the Virtual Coach computer avatar, on adherence to an activity regime.

Partners Step It Up

This program incorporates activity tracking using a pedometer, educational feedback relating to their activity, and a fun team-oriented foot race.

2 Comments

Texting for Steps

A new text-messaging program will promote good health and nutrition, and incorporate tracking of students' daily activity using a wireless pedometer.

Research Materials & External Resources

The Future of Connected Health in Preventive Medicine

Connected health has shown great potential in collecting phenotypic data, which can be overlaid on genomic data to deliver a more precise and personalized preventive care that better engages patients.

April 2013 | Stephen O. Agboola, Madeleine Ball, Joseph C. Kvedar, Kamal Jethwani

Is There Such a Thing as an Online Health Lifestyle?

Examining the relationship between social status, Internet access, and health behaviors.

March 2013 | Timothy M. Hale

Prevention of weight gain following a worksite nutrition and exercise program: a randomized controlled trial.

The researchers examined if a 9-month maintenance intervention immediately following a 10-week worksite exercise and nutrition program would prevent regain of the weight lost during the program.

July 2012 | Thorndike AN, Sonnenberg L, Healey E, Myint-U K, Kvedar JC, Regan S.

The Feasibility and Impact of Delivering a Mind-Body Intervention in a Virtual World

In this pilot study, the authors explored the feasibility of translating a face-to-face stress reduction program into an online virtual setting and estimated the effect size of the intervention.

March 2012 | Hoch DB, Watson AJ, Linton DA, Bello HE, Senelly M, Milik MT, Baim MA, Jethwani K, Fricchione GL, Benson H, Kvedar JC

An Internet-Based Virtual Coach to Promote Physical Activity Adherence in Overweight Adults: Randomized Controlled Trial

The authors hypothesized that a virtual coach would increase activity levels, via step count, in overweight or obese individuals beyond the effect observed using a pedometer and website alone.

January 2012 | Watson A, Bickmore T, Cange A, Kulshreshtha A, Kvedar J

Comparison of strategies for sustaining weight loss: the weight loss maintenance randomized controlled trial

This study found that brief personal counseling and web-based intervention strategies offer the best hope in keeping weight off over three years.

March 2008 | Svetkey LP et al.

Promoting physical activity through hand-held computer technology

Results from this first-generation study indicate that hand-held computers may be effective tools for increasing initial physical activity levels among underactive adults.

February 2008 | King AC, Ahn DK, Oliveira BM, Atienza AA, Castro CM, Gardner CD

A Review of eHealth Interventions for Physical Activity and Dietary Behavior Change

A review of 86 eHealth intervention studies for adults and children that targeted behavior change for physical activity, healthy eating, or both behaviors.

October 2007 | Norman GJ, Zabinski MF, Adams MA, Rosenberg DE, Yaroch AL, Atienza AA

Medical Self-Care Savings

An American Institute for Preventive Medicine White Paper

2007 | American Institute for Preventive Medicine

Web-based weight management programs in an integrated health care setting: a randomized, controlled trial

The authors assessed the efficacy of a Web-based tailored behavioral weight management program compared with Web-based information-only weight management materials.

February 2006 | Rothert K, Strecher VJ, Doyle LA, Caplan WM, Joyce JS, Jimison HB, Karm LM, Mims AD, Roth MA

A handheld animated advisor for physical activity promotion

The authors have developed an animated PDA-based advisor that can engage sedentary adults in dialogues about their physical activity throughout the day.

January 2006 | Bickmore TW, Gruber A, Intille S, Mauer D

Effect of internet support on the long-term maintenance of weight loss

Participants assigned to an internet-based weight maintenance program sustained comparable weight loss over 18 months compared with individuals who continued to meet face-to-face.

February 2004 | Harvey-Berino J, Pintauro S, Buzzell P, Gold EC

Research Materials & External Resources

The Future of Connected Health in Preventive Medicine

Connected health has shown great potential in collecting phenotypic data, which can be overlaid on genomic data to deliver a more precise and personalized preventive care that better engages patients.

April 2013 | Stephen O. Agboola, Madeleine Ball, Joseph C. Kvedar, Kamal Jethwani

Is There Such a Thing as an Online Health Lifestyle?

Examining the relationship between social status, Internet access, and health behaviors.

March 2013 | Timothy M. Hale

Prevention of weight gain following a worksite nutrition and exercise program: a randomized controlled trial.

The researchers examined if a 9-month maintenance intervention immediately following a 10-week worksite exercise and nutrition program would prevent regain of the weight lost during the program.

July 2012 | Thorndike AN, Sonnenberg L, Healey E, Myint-U K, Kvedar JC, Regan S.

JCK promo photoThe cHealth Blog
Check out Dr. Joe Kvedar's new blog about Connected Health:
The cHealth Blog

 

News & Articles Show Less

Indulge In This: Technology to Help You Lose Weight"We estimate that about 10 percent of the population, i.e. fitness buffs and quantified-selfers, are motivated by seeing data and use it to compete with themselves to move forward or make change," says Dr. Joseph C. Kvedar, founder and director of the Center for Connected Health at Partners HealthCare. "For the rest of us, it requires a layering on of motivational tools – coaching and reminders, games, incentives and rewards, and, a social network - to inspire change," he adds.
Friday, September 14, 2012 | TechnologyGuide
Missing link in anti-obesity technologyIt seems like every week at FierceHealthIT and FierceMobileHealthcare we're writing stories about new technologies to help patients eat less and move more. Just a few recent examples: Partners HealthCare in Boston gave school children wireless "sneaker chip" pedometers to help them track how many steps they take each day.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012 | FierceHealthIT
Stepping UpCongrats to the top walkers from the Manning School in Jamaica Plain, MA, who recently completed our Step It Up program. Students were given a wireless device that monitored how many footsteps they took. In total, Manning School students walked 14.7 million steps, or roughly 4,900 miles, in the eight-week program that ended June 11.
Friday, June 22, 2012 | Jamaica Plain Gazette
Study supports using virtual environment to teach mind/body techniquesA small study from Massachusetts General Hospital researchers found that online virtual communities may be an effective way to train patients in meditation and other mind/body techniques.
Friday, March 30, 2012 | Massachusetts General Hospital
Partners Step It Up program expands During a Feb. 29 visit to Boston by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Gov. Deval Patrick, Mayor Thomas M. Menino, the Boston Public Schools, Partners HealthCare and the Partners Center for Connected Health announced that the Partners Step It Up program will be offered to elementary students at six Boston public schools this year.
Friday, March 9, 2012 | MGH Hotline
Partners takes health technology into Boston-area schoolsPartners HealthCare in Boston is taking technology out of the hospital and into local schools as a way to prevent future health problems, particularly obesity.
Monday, March 5, 2012 | FierceMobileHealthcare
Partners HealthCare expands connected fitness program at Boston schoolsBoston-based Partners HealthCare and its Center for Connected Health recently announced plans to expand its connected fitness program, Partners Step It Up, to six Boston public schools this year.
Monday, March 5, 2012 | mobihealthnews
Partners Encourages Healthy Living in the Next GenerationEarlier this week, Partners President and CEO Dr. Gary Gottlieb was joined by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Governor Deval Patrick and Mayor Thomas M. Menino to announce the expansion of the Partners Step It Up initiative into six Boston public schools this year.
Friday, March 2, 2012 | Connect with Partners
Using wireless technology to get kids to Step It UpIt was a rewarding and invigorating morning, to see the impact Partners Step It Up has had on these students, and how, through some simple technology and a bit of imagination, we can help keep our young people active and healthy.
Friday, March 2, 2012 | The Doctor Weighs In
Partners takes its tech-driven Step It Up program to Boston schoolsPartners HealthCare and its Center for Connected Health is offering its Partners Step It Up program to elementary students at six Boston public schools this year. The program incorporates technology, educational feedback and a team-oriented virtual foot race to raise awareness about the importance of daily activity and good health.
Thursday, March 1, 2012 | Healthcare IT News
Student, Kathleen Sebelius nuts about pestoA top Obama Cabinet secretary faced a tough grilling and was briefly knocked off-message yesterday — by a pint-sized fourth-grader with gourmet tastes. U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius was at a Dorchester school promoting a school health initiative called Step It Up.
Thursday, March 1, 2012 | Boston Herald
Partners HealthCare expands Partners Step It Up program to six Boston public elementary school to help students live active, healthy livesDuring a visit by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Governor Deval Patrick, Mayor Thomas M. Menino, the Boston Public Schools, Partners HealthCare and the Partners Center for Connected Health announced that Partners Step It Up will be offered to elementary students at six Boston public schools this year.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012 | Partners HealthCare
Dorchester students 'Step It Up' with Menino, Patrick, and SebeliusGovernor Deval Patrick and Mayor Thomas M. Menino were joined by US Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius at the Holmes Elementary School in Dorchester Wednesday morning to promote the Partners Step It Up program, which promotes healthy living through exercise and positive life choices.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012 | boston.com
Governor Patrick joins Secretary Sebelius, Mayor Menino at Holmes Elementary School to highlight initiatives to prevent childhood obesityGovernor Deval Patrick today joined U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino at the Oliver Wendell Holmes School (Holmes School) in Dorchester to highlight Step It Up, an innovative pilot program that encourages students to be active and healthy in order to prevent childhood obesity.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012 | Mass.gov
 

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