{"id":364136,"date":"2022-03-15T06:00:11","date_gmt":"2022-03-14T20:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=364136"},"modified":"2022-03-15T06:00:11","modified_gmt":"2022-03-14T20:00:11","slug":"guam-fitbit-users-sought-for-study-on-predicting-illnesses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/guam-fitbit-users-sought-for-study-on-predicting-illnesses\/","title":{"rendered":"Guam Fitbit users sought for study on predicting illnesses"},"content":{"rendered":"
Christopher Mafnas, left, and Joseph\u00a0Mafnas review the daily activity tracked by a Fitbit as part of the national DETECT study, an app-based study that analyzes participants\u2019\u00a0heart rate, activity, and sleep data to reveal patterns preceding influenza-like illnesses and possibly other viral infections, such as COVID-19.\u00a09University of Guam)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

University of Guam researchers are looking to ensure that residents of Pacific Islands and U.S. territories are represented in an ongoing national health study. The study, called DETECT, is investigating whether tracking heart rate, activity, and sleep through a wearable device can provide an early indication of influenza-like illnesses and possibly other viral infections, such as COVID-19.<\/p>\n

DETECT\u00a0is an app-based study run by the Scripps Translational Science Institute. It collects data from participants\u2019 wearable activity trackers and occasionally sends the wearer a short survey about their health status. It is then able to uncover patterns that may correlate with illness, ultimately improving the prediction and prevention of infectious disease.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The research project is an expanded effort of a similar\u00a0study published in February 2020\u00a0that studied the data of Fitbit wearers in five states.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cInterestingly, this study collected data before COVID-19 and found that wearable devices significantly improved predictions of influenza-like illnesses,\u201d said UOG professor Yvette Paulino, a co-investigator on the DETECT study in Guam, who holds\u00a0a doctorate in epidemiology.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lead principal investigator Dr. Annette David, an adjunct research professor at UOG who holds a Doctor of Medicine and a Master of Public Health, said the six-month project involves recruiting Guam residents representing the diverse Asian, American, and Pacific Islander ethnicities that comprise the island\u2019s population.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur long-term goal is to develop a methodology that will allow individuals living across the Pacific\u2014who in the past have had limited opportunities to participate in national research programs due to geographic barriers\u2014an increased opportunity to choose to join trials,\u201d David said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ultimately, she said, they hope this recruitment effort will guide strategies moving forward to successfully recruit Pacific Island and territory residents to participate in more national studies.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The team is looking to recruit 1,000 people in Guam by July to be part of the study.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Also serving as co-investigator on the study is UOG professor emeritus Lilnabeth Somera, who holds a doctorate in communication.<\/p>\n

Participate in the study\u00a0<\/strong>
\nTo participate in the study, residents can download the MyDataHelps app, available via Google Play and the Apple App Store, and input the project code: DETECT. Connect the app to a fitness tracker or smartwatch, and the device will do the rest.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Eligible participants must:\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

be 18 years of age or older\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

be a resident of Guam\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

have a smartphone or smartwatch fitness tracker\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The first 50 people to join the study and recruit nine other people will receive a free Fitbit. To enter the recruitment promotion, send screenshots of the recruited profiles to\u00a0detect.guam@gmail.com.<\/p>\n

For more information about the study, contact the DETECT Guam team at\u00a0detect.guam@gmail.com. (PR)<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

University of Guam researchers are looking to ensure that residents of Pacific Islands and U.S….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":364138,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[44],"class_list":["post-364136","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news","tag-study"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/364136","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=364136"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/364136\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/364138"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=364136"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=364136"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=364136"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}