POWER: Unlocking the potential of wearables for population health research in low-resource settings

Atkin, Andrew J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3819-3448, Amornsriwatanakul, Areekul, Bello-Chavolla, Omar Yazmehen, Doherty, Aiden, Florindo, Alex Antonio, Jamal, Rahman, Kabudula, Chodziwadziwa, Milton, Karen ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0506-2214, Del Pozo Cruz, Borja, Rennie, Kirsten L., Sherar, Lauren B., Wright, Caradee Y. and Micklesfield, Lisa K. (2026) POWER: Unlocking the potential of wearables for population health research in low-resource settings. British Journal of Sports Medicine. ISSN 0306-3674

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Abstract

Globally, health-related research capacity and production, including in the interconnected fields of physical activity and environmental epidemiology, is disproportionately skewed towards high-income countries.1–4 The dearth of evidence from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and other low-resource settings spans the spectrum of population surveillance, etiological research, intervention development and implementation, and policy research. These disparities hinder the development of locally relevant policy and interventions, and clinical and public health guidelines, further perpetuating inequality in evidence and capacity. In this context, we position wearable technologies as transformative mechanisms set to reshape environmental and behavioural surveillance and epidemiology, where dedicated action is required to avoid widening established inequalities in research. In this editorial, we discuss the current landscape regarding the use of wearables in physical activity and environmental research, highlight key considerations for their use in low-resource settings, and introduce a new academic network established to advance the collection of wearables-based data in these settings.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	das to be completed,2026 ,/dt/atira/pure/keyword/DAStatement/das_to_be_completed
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > School of Health Sciences Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Norwich Medical School
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Norwich Epidemiology Centre Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Norwich Epidemiology Centre Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Centres > Norwich Institute for Healthy Aging Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Health Promotion Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Centres > Public Health
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	19 Oct 2026 15:46
Last Modified:	21 Oct 2026 12:25
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/104821
DOI:

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