Wearable Technology in Occupational Health:
A Conversation with Dr. Nidhi Gupta
In today's rapidly evolving technological landscape, wearable devices have transcended their role as mere gadgets to tools that can be implemented in powerful ways, in fields like occupational health.
In this episode of the Expert Series, Dr. Nidhi Gupta, Senior Researcher for the National Centre NFA and an expert in wearable technology, sheds light on the potential, and challenges, of integrating wearables into the workforce.
Wearables, Workplace & Wellness
Wearables are an integral part of the Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem, designed specifically to be worn on the body. In contrast to today's smartphones and tablets, wearables can be seamlessly integrated into clothing and accessories and offer a wide spectrum of scanning and monitoring capabilities, including biometry and biofeedback.
The most popular kind perhaps are smartwatches, widely favoured for their convenience and ability to provide real-time insights. There are those, however, designed for specific purposes like thigh-worn accelerometers. These can be used to measure posture and movement throughout the day with more accuracy than wrist or waist-worn accelerometers, due to minimal disturbance. Through placement alone, thigh-worn accelerometers can measure energy expenditure and other specific physical behaviours like running, sitting, or cycling.
Dr. Gupta points to this very advantage when she says that wearables are essential to measuring the impacts of occupational stress. Certain devices or a combination of devices, can significantly enhance the assessment of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). They can provide better risk assessments and intervention-tailoring compared to just self-reports or observations, as wearables collect objective data.
Data Privacy and Transparency
Data collection, however, brings forth a big challenge: data privacy. Workers are apprehensive about being monitored and there’s almost too much information, verifiable or not, about the ways in which data is misused. While Europe is under a stringent General Data Protection Law (GDPR), other countries often lack such safeguards. In Dr. Gupta’s experience, building a reputation around the kind of research one does goes a long way in garnering participant trust.
Education here is also important because, as Dr. Gupta puts it, many users of technology often willingly give away data access, without fully understanding the extent to which and how this information will be used. Transparency into how the wearable works and how the data is managed ensures employee trust and encourages wearable use.
A few more guidelines for successful implementation of workplace wearables are:
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Ease of Use: Wearables should be user-friendly and convenient for practitioners and OHS professionals. This would require designing wearables specifically catering to their needs, making them intuitive to incorporate into their practice.
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Affordability: Cost is a significant factor. Wearables should be reasonably priced to encourage widespread adoption.
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Integration: The wearable technology should seamlessly integrate with the existing systems and routines of the workplaces. Compatibility with workplace processes is crucial for practical use.
With technology being the driving force of change, staying informed about technological advancements is crucial. Dr. Gupta suggests that while specialisation is valuable, remaining open to ideas from other fields can inspire innovative breakthroughs.
Tune into her episode, Wearables and Workplace Wellness with
Dr. Nidhi Gupta, available on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcast and anywhere else you tune into your podcasts!
For PREMUS, WDPI & MYOPIAN 2023 Dr. Gupta is delivering a keynote on “Wearable technologies at work: from measurement of physical work demands to prevention of MSD”.
She is also hosting a workshop on “A hands-on experience of easy-to-use wearable methods to measure physical work demands”.
Register now for the conference!
Wearable Technology in Occupational Health:
A Conversation with
Dr. Nidhi Gupta
In today's rapidly evolving technological landscape, wearable devices have transcended their role as mere gadgets to tools that can be implemented in powerful ways, in fields like occupational health.
In this episode of the Expert Series, Dr. Nidhi Gupta, Senior Researcher for the National Centre NFA and an expert in wearable technology, sheds light on the potential, and challenges, of integrating wearables into the workforce.
Wearables, Workplace & Wellness
Wearables are an integral part of the Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem, designed specifically to be worn on the body. In contrast to today's smartphones and tablets, wearables can be seamlessly integrated into clothing and accessories and offer a wide spectrum of scanning and monitoring capabilities, including biometry and biofeedback.
The most popular kind perhaps are smartwatches, widely favoured for their convenience and ability to provide real-time insights. There are those, however, designed for specific purposes like thigh-worn accelerometers. These can be used to measure posture and movement throughout the day with more accuracy than wrist or waist-worn accelerometers, due to minimal disturbance. Through placement alone, thigh-worn accelerometers can measure energy expenditure and other specific physical behaviours like running, sitting, or cycling.
Dr. Gupta points to this very advantage when she says that wearables are essential to measuring the impacts of occupational stress. Certain devices or a combination of devices, can significantly enhance the assessment of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). They can provide better risk assessments and intervention-tailoring compared to just self-reports or observations, as wearables collect objective data.