Research for Equitable Health Outcomes: A Call for Diverse Participant Samples in Wearable Device Harmonization and Standardization Approaches

Le résumé fourni par la source

Physical behaviors (PB), comprising physical activity, sedentary behavior, and sleep, are widely acknowledged as key determinants of physical and mental health (Chaput et al., 2020; World Health Organization, 2020). The use of wearable devices to capture PB has markedly increased over the last four decades, thus enabling continuous monitoring of movement in free-living environments (Evenson et al., 2022). There is increasing recognition of the need to prioritize standardization and harmonization in device-based PB research to ensure comparability across studies and to strengthen scientific rigor. This issue is most often approached through the lens of methodological standardization pertaining to consistency in device selection, data collection protocols, and analytical techniques, to enable large-scale data pooling and harmonization (Dunn et al., 2025). While these efforts are critical for making meaningful advancements, a thoughtful, globally informed understanding of PB must also account for differences across populations and contexts. Accordingly, we argue that considerations regarding equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) must be embedded in this wider movement toward standardization and harmonization of device-based PB research. Without deliberate integration, device-based PB research risks widening existing gaps in knowledge and understanding of underrepresented populations.

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