ReviewRelated researchFull text reviewed

The Impact of Wearable Technologies in Health Research: Scoping Review

Huhn et al. · 2022 · JMIR mHealth and uHealth

DOI: 10.2196/34384 ↗

Open the published paper ↗People, places & projects ↓

01 / Study designReview

02 / ContributionSynthesis and scientific context

03 / Interpretation

Interpret findings within the scope of the source evidence.

Read the limitations ↓

Summary

Reviews affordable wearables in health research and identifies evidence gaps in low-resource settings.

Full text reviewed

The summary describes the published study and the sources listed below.

Scientific notes: 2026-11-11 · Research connections: 12 November 2026

Key findings

Documents increasing and diverse research use, especially steps, activity, heart rate and sleep. It identifies a substantial low-resource-setting research gap and practical concerns about raw-data access.

Study design & setting

Study design and methods

Population, setting or evidence base

Global literature, predominantly North America and Europe. Scoping review of wearable use in health research. 179 studies, 2013–2020; 10,835,733 reported participants, heavily dominated by one very large study.

Methods

Four-database search, independent screening, structured charting and narrative synthesis of applications and reported strengths/shortcomings.

Limits to interpretation

Limitations

English-only and selected-brand scope; discontinued products excluded. Authors' positive device assessments are not independent certification or universal validation.

Research relevance

Supports evaluating device suitability, data access and ongoing operating costs before field deployment.

People, places & projects