Feasibility and Acceptability of Fitbits for Assessment of Physical Activity and Sleep in Pediatric Pain

Physical activity and sleep are critical to the pain experience, and bidirectional relations between physical activity and pain and between sleep and pain have been identified. Methodologies typically used to assess physical activity and sleep, however, are subject to bias (i.e., self-report), costly and invasive hospital implementation (i.e., PSG), and lack of recent technological advancement (i.e., actigraphy). Fitbits may represent a cost-effective, reliable, and valid methodology for measurement of these constructs, though their feasibility and acceptability have not been investigated in pediatric pain populations. The current study aimed to assess feasibility and acceptability of Fitbits for assessment of physical activity and sleep in youth with acute and chronic pain. We investigated three samples of youth with pain (ages=11-17): those undergoing cardiac (N=14) or orthopedic surgery (N=7) and those in a multidisciplinary pain rehabilitation program (N=15). Results indicated the majority of youth demonstrated adequate compliance with Fitbit wearing (cardiac: 63.4%; orthopedic: 87.2%; rehabilitation: 82.4%). Self-report results indicated high mean levels of comfort and satisfaction and low mean levels of burden on 0-10 scales (cardiac: comfort M=8.6, SD=1.4; satisfaction M=8.5, SD=1.1; burden M=0.6, SD=0.9;; orthopedic: comfort M=8.9, SD=1.2; satisfaction M=9.4, SD=0.8; burden M=0.3, SD=0.5; rehabilitation: comfort M=8.5, SD=1.3; satisfaction M=7.9, SD=1.5; burden M=1.3, SD=1.4). Findings support the feasibility and acceptability of Fitbits for assessing physical activity and sleep in pediatric pain populations. Considerations related to a data collection pipeline and patient-related implementation are discussed. Future clinical research in pediatric pain may benefit from leveraging Fitbits for assessment and intervention. Funding: NIH K01DA057374.