Use of wearable technology in the treatment of mental health difficulties and chronic pain

Dalton, Joel-Ellis

Abstract

This portfolio thesis has three parts: a Systematic Literature Review followed by an empirical research study and finally, a set of appendices. This thesis explored the potential uses of wearable technology in the treatment of mental health difficulties and in the management of chronic pain.
The systematic literature review explored recent mental health care research that utilised wearable technology. From this body of literature, three potential areas of use for wearable technology in mental health care were synthesised. Consideration is given to the clinical implications and limitations of the research. Potential areas of future research are also discussed.
The empirical section describes a study aimed to investigate the utility of incorporating activity tracking technology into a pain management programme (PMP). This pilot study employed mixed methodology in order to investigate both whether being provided with an activity tracker is beneficial to individuals experiencing chronic pain. No significant improvements on outcome measures for various domains (including sleep, pain levels and mental wellbeing) were found for a group with trackers compared to a group without. However those in the tracker group provided positive feedback about benefits of the trackers. The implications for the findings of this study and avenues for future research are discussed.
The appendices section contains a set of appendices for both the preceding sections. It also contains an epistemological statement and reflective statement in order to provide context about the researcher’s experience of conducting the research and the philosophical position from which the design of the research was approached.

Citation

Dalton, J.-E. Use of wearable technology in the treatment of mental health difficulties and chronic pain. (Thesis). University of Hull. https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4222947

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Mar 11, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 23, 2023
• Keywords: Clinical psychology
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4222947
• Additional Information: Department of Psychological Health, Wellbeing and Social Work, The University of Hull
• Award Date: Jun 1, 2020