HARNESSING GRASSROOT WEARABLE HEALTH DATA ANALYTICS FOR STRENGTHENING NATIONAL HEALTH SYSTEM

Abstract

This paper explores how wearable health data, or devices such as smart-watches, that can be
strengthened on a grassroots scale, can support the national health system of Nigeria. Disease
surveillance, resource allocation and early warning programs could be improved by analyzing
real time measures like heart rate and sleep patterns. An investigation with primary data of a
survey of 200 people at Osun State revealed that the majority of 72% of respondents believe that
wearable can drastically enhance local healthcare monitoring. Nevertheless, affordability and
digital literacy were named as some of the biggest obstacles by 65%. The statistical results
revealed that there was a significant positive correlation (r = 0.78) between adoption of wearable
data and effective community-based healthcare provision. The paper concludes that the
combination of this information can transform preventive care and decrease health disparities on
the national health care. Some of the recommendations to be adopted are government allocation
towards digital infrastructure, subsidization of devices and creation of training programs to
enhance data literacy among healthcare workers and communities.