Authors
Shashank Madhu, Justice Centrello, Cameron Riopelle
Published in
Digital health. Volume 12. Pages 20552076261474968. Epub Jul 31, 2026.
Abstract
Wearable devices are increasingly used to monitor and track health, yet the factors shaping adoption remain incompletely understood. Amid longstanding declines in public trust in the U.S. healthcare system, this study examines how trust in healthcare relates to wearable device use.
Data from the 2022 Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS 6) were analyzed in a sample of 6,118 respondents with complete data on trust, wearable use, and key sociodemographic and psychosocial characteristics. Structural equation modeling (SEM) evaluated relationships among trust, wearable use, and four latent constructs: technological aptitude, health literacy, social media use, and perceived competence.
Among respondents, 84.8% reported moderate to high trust in the U.S. healthcare system and 33.2% reported using a wearable device in the prior year. Technological aptitude was the strongest correlate of wearable use (β = .88, p < .001), while perceived competence (β = -.68, p < .001) and social media use (β = -.46, p < .001) were inversely associated. Trust was positively associated with technological aptitude (β = .29, p = .005) and health literacy (β = .36, p < .001), and negatively associated with social media use (β = -.19, p < .001). Trust and wearable use demonstrated a negative association (β = -.14, p = .015).
Digital readiness and lower healthcare trust together shape wearable adoption, with implications for how clinicians might leverage self-tracking behaviors to rebuild patient-provider relationships.
PMID:
42542756
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 02 Aug 2026.
Read full publication at:
Please sign in
to see all details.
Advertisement
Stats
- Recommendations n/a n/a positive of 0 vote(s)
- Views 5
- Comments 0