Promoting Wellness Through Mobile Health Technology in a College Student Population: Protocol Development and Pilot Study

BACKGROUND: The health and well-being of college students has garnered widespread attention and concern in recent years. At the same time, the expansion and evaluation of digital technologies has grown in recent years for different target populations. OBJECTIVE: This protocol aims to describe a pilot feasibility study on wearables to assess student interest and to gather baseline data from college freshmen, for the academic year 2019 to 2020. METHODS: All full-time college freshmen residing in a single residence hall were eligible to participate. Study invitations were sent by post and email 5 weeks prior to move-in. Web-based enrollment and in-person attendance at study orientation sessions were mandatory. We provided the incoming freshmen with a wearable and study app. Wearable data and weekly survey data will be collected through the study app and analyzed. We have collected demographic, enrollment, and attrition data and the number and type of support requests from students. RESULTS: The planning phase of the WearDuke initiative was completed in 2018 to 2019, and the pilot study was launched in July 2019. Of the 175 students invited, 120 enrolled and 114 started the study; 107 students remained active participants till the end of the fall semester. For Apple Watch participants (the majority of study population), weekly survey completion rates ranged from 70% (74/106) to 96% (95/99). CONCLUSIONS: Halfway through the pilot, we noticed that the initiative has been received positively by the students with minimal attrition. The short- and long-term benefits may be substantial for students, the campus, the utilization of health services, and long-term health. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/16474