Fitbit Integration
Enhancing your research using wearable technology
Leveraging wearables such as Fitbit can provide numerous advantages in conducting ecological momentary assessments.
Fitbit offers APIs that allow ExpiWell to access a wide range of data, including activity levels, sleep patterns, heart rate variability, and more. This data holds significant value for research endeavors, particularly those centered on physical activity, sleep quality, and holistic well-being.
Participants will be required to enter their Fitbit credentials so ExpiWell can collect data from their Fitbit account using the Fitbit API. This process does not require the participant to wear the Fitbit device or maintain a Bluetooth connection.
Types of Parameters Available for Data Collection:
1) Fitbit Daily Parameters
These parameters offer daily 24-hour summary data:
- Active zone time series - A quantity sample type that measures the user’s duration in various heart-pumping activity zones.
- Breathing rate - A quantity sample type that measures the user’s average breaths per minute during sleep.
- Heart rate time series - A quantity sample type that measures the user’s maximum and minimum heart rate zones and calories burned with the specified heart rate zone.
- Heart rate variability - A quantity sample type that measures the Root Mean Square of Successive Differences (RMSSD) between heartbeats for the user’s daily heart rate and heart rate in deep sleep.
- Sleep - A quantity sample type that measures the user’s sleep log summary and duration of various stages of sleep.
- Temperature (core) - A quantity sample type that records the temperature logged by the user for the day.
Fitbit Daily Retrospective Data Collection
The ExpiWell Fitbit Daily integration enables researchers to easily capture past health metrics even before the project starts. This assumes that the participant was wearing their Fitbit before the ExpiWell project began and that the data is still stored in the Fitbit app. If data is available on the Fitbit app, researchers can collect up to a maximum of 30 days of retrospective data.
2) Fitbit Intraday Parameters
These parameters provide detailed time interval data on key health metrics throughout the day:
- Active Zone Minutes - A quantity sample type that measures the user’s duration in heart-pumping activity zones throughout the day in specific time intervals.
- Activity - Monitors the user’s daily physical activities and movements at specific time intervals.
- Calories - A quantity sample type that measures the calories burned by the user during daily activities.
- Distance - A quantity sample type that measures the distance traveled by the user during daily activities.
- Elevation - A quantity sample type that measures the total elevation gained by the user during physical activities.
- Floors - A quantity sample type that measures the number of floors climbed by the user during physical activities.
- Steps - A quantity sample type that measures the user’s steps taken during daily activities
- Breathing Rate - A quantity sample type that measures the user’s average breaths per minute during the various sleep stages (deep, light, REM, full).
- Heart Rate Intraday - A quantity sample type that measures the user’s average heart rate throughout the day in specific time intervals.
- HRV - A quantity sample type that measures the user’s Heart Rate Variability (HRV) throughout the day in 5-time intervals.
- SpO2 - A quantity sample type that estimates the user’s blood oxygen saturation levels during sleep.
The Fitbit Intraday time interval frequency for Active Zone Minutes, Activity, and Heart Rate Intraday data collection can be set for either 5 or 15 minutes, depending on research needs.
Fitbit Retrospective Intraday Data
Fitbit Retrospective Intraday data is not featured under the 'Integration' tab. Instead, it is available under the 'Fitbit Retrospective Intraday Data' section in the 'Insights' tab, as shown below. Participants’ Fitbit Retrospective Intraday data can be accessed and downloaded once they join the project, even if they have not completed any surveys. The data available for download depends on whether the participant has the data on their Fitbit app and whether ExpiWell has the necessary Fitbit username and access token. Only the last 'fetched data' date range (if any) will be shown, as indicated by the orange arrow below.
Due to Fitbit limiting the number of API calls each user can make every hour, only up to one month's worth of data can be collected from one participant per hour.
You can 'fetch data' for each participant up to one month at a time, per hour, to be stored on the ExpiWell server. Use the date picker to enter the 'start date' and 'end date' of the required date range.
Note: The error message indicated by the orange arrow below will appear if the selected date range exceeds one month. You will not be able to fetch any data until the date range has been modified.
After selecting the required date range, click the 'Fetch Data' button.
The data will be fetched accordingly, as shown in the red box below. You can click the 'Download' button (indicated by the red arrow) to download all the Excel files for each intraday parameter. All the data you have fetched will be available for download in a single file for each parameter. For example, if you've previously 'fetched data' from 25 November to 2 December and then 'fetched data' again from 2 December to 9 December, all the data from 25 November to 9 December will be collated together when you click the 'Download' button.
Fitbit Daily and Intraday Data Collection Process:
When the project is accessed on the ExpiWell app for the first day, either the past 24-hour data (for Fitbit Intraday) or the requested number of days of retrospective data (for Fitbit Daily) will be called.
For subsequent days, both Fitbit Daily and Fitbit Intraday data for the previous day’s 24-hour period is collected when participants open the ExpiWell app for the first time each day.
If the participant misses any surveys, the missing days' data will also be called the next time the ExpiWell app is opened.
For the last day, the API will be called twice in that day:
1. When participant opens the ExpiWell app for the first time in a day (the previous day's 24-hour data is collected).
2. When the last scheduled survey is accessed for the day (the current day's data is collected until the last scheduled survey timeslot).
Survey Scenario (for 7-day survey):
- Day 1 Survey:
- ExpiWell collects Fitbit data from the previous day’s 24-hour period or the requested number of days of retrospective data (for Fitbit Daily parameters if any).
- Days 2-6:
- ExpiWell collects the daily 24-hour data for each previous day when participants open the app.
- If participants do not open the app, data is collected when they access the Day 7 survey.
- Day 7 Survey:
- ExpiWell collects Fitbit data from Day 6’s 24-hour period and any missing data from previous days.
- Additionally, data is collected from midnight to the time of the last scheduled survey on the final day when the last survey is accessed.
Missed Surveys:
- If a participant misses the Day 7 survey and does not open the app during the interim, ExpiWell cannot obtain Fitbit data for Days 2-7.
- If a participant does not open the app during the interim but completes the Day 7 survey, ExpiWell will collect all interim Fitbit data for Days 2-6 and Day 7.
Benefits for Researchers:
- Real-Time Health Monitoring: Intraday data collection allows for near-real-time monitoring of participant behavior and health metrics.
- Increased Data Resolution: With customizable intervals, researchers can gather highly detailed data to analyze short-term fluctuations in participants' health metrics.
- Flexible Study Design: Researchers can design studies that require specific data windows and retrieval of past data, ensuring that no valuable information is missed.
Setting up Fitbit Integration on ExpiWell
Here is a comprehensive guide on how to collect Fitbit data through ExpiWell, whether linking participants' personal Fitbit devices or utilizing Fitbit devices owned by your research lab.
For Researchers:
- Create a new project and navigate to the 'Integration' tab.
- Toggle 'Fitbit Device' and choose up to a maximum of 6 parameters you wish to collect.
- For Fitbit Daily parameters, retrospective data can be collected by entering the number of days required (up to a maximum of 30 days).
- For Fitbit Intraday parameters, the time interval frequency for Active Zone Minutes, Activity, and Heart Rate Intraday data collection can be set for either 5 or 15 minutes, depending on research needs
NOTE: To ensure comprehensive Fitbit data collection, schedule the survey over multiple days to capture daily data throughout the entire period, especially if real-time data is needed. If Fitbit data collection is needed until 5 pm on the last day, the last survey timeslot should be scheduled at that time or later to ensure all required Fitbit data is collected until then (as shown in the screenshot below).For Participants:
- Enter the project access code and enroll in the project. You will receive a notification of the project's Fitbit data requirement, click 'continue.'
- Upon clicking 'continue', you will be taken to the Fitbit login page.
- Log in using an existing Fitbit account or continue with a Google Account. Please note that a Google Account is required to activate new Fitbit devices released after the launch of Google Accounts for Fitbit. Existing users have the option to use either a Google Account or their existing Fitbit account until at least 2025 at which point they will be required to use a Google Account for login.
- After successfully logging in to your Fitbit account, you can choose which kind of data you allow ExpiWell to collect from your Fitbit.
- Select all the data that you allow ExpiWell to collect, and click 'Allow'.
- 6-month membership included with a new device purchase: If you recently purchased a Fitbit tracker or smartwatch, your device comes with a 6-month Premium membership. You can start your Fitbit Premium membership directly in the mobile app. When you set up your device, you’ll be prompted to begin your Fitbit Premium subscription. Please see below for the additional features that are included in the Fitbit Premium.
- Please ensure that you wear your device for at least a full day, including sleeping at night, to collect the data successfully (Note: skin temperature requires 3 nights of data).
- Data can be accessed through the 'Insights Tab' > 'Fitbit Data' > 'Download' in the ExpiWell platform, available in an Excel format for analysis.
Sample Fitbit Daily Heart Rate Time Series Data File
Sample Fitbit Intraday Activity Distance (Intraday Interval 15 minutes) Data File
Overall, integrating Fitbit with ExpiWell can enrich your research initiatives by providing real-time health and activity data, fostering participant engagement, and enabling in-depth data analysis for valuable research insights.
Additionally, we prioritize protecting participants' privacy, ensuring the security and authenticity of collected data, so we are in adherence with the data security measures of HIPAA and GDPR.
FAQS
Can Fitbit data be collected continuously throughout the project, even if participants do not respond to surveys?
- Yes, Fitbit data can be collected daily throughout the project duration, regardless of participants' survey responses. Participants need to reopen the ExpiWell mobile app for data collection. If participants log out of their Fitbit account or experience disconnections, they will receive a prompt to reconnect when they reopen the ExpiWell app.
Does battery-saving mode impact Fitbit's syncing capabilities?
- No, battery-saving mode does not disrupt Fitbit syncing if data is already synced with Fitbit, as we fetch data directly from the Fitbit API.
Does the Fitbit data collection stop after the participant finishes answering all the surveys?
- Yes, as it will be marked as completed.
How many times will ExpiWell collect data from Fitbit?
- Once a day for the first and subsequent days. Twice on the last day, when the app is opened for the first time that day and when the last survey is accessed.
Is it possible to collect Fitbit data passively without opening the ExpiWell mobile app?
- No, passive data collection without app interaction is not feasible because the Fitbit APIs we use for data collection require app interaction.
What happens if a participant forgets to open their ExpiWell mobile app?
- Upon reopening the app, you can still collect data from previous days. For example, if a participant misses days 2 and 3 but opens the app on day 4, data for days 2, 3, and 4 can be downloaded.
Which variables are affected if Fitbit is not worn during a sleep period?
- If Fitbit is not worn during sleep, variables like HRV, Breathing Rate, Sleep, Heart Rate Time Series, and SpO2 data will be empty because Fitbit requires a minimum 3-hour sleep period to track these metrics.
Can HRV data be collected during the workday (e.g., early morning, midday, early afternoon, and late afternoon)?
- Based on Fitbit's documentation, HRV data collection is dependent on at least 3 hours of sleep, making it unavailable during the workday.
What happens if a participant rejoins the project, will the Fitbit data be lost?
- No, the previous Fitbit data will still be saved. Upon rejoining the project, a new Fitbit data file will be created for that same participant. For example, in the screenshot below, Participant 1 rejoined the project once and will have two Fitbit data files, with the latest Fitbit data file downloadable under Participant 1 (2).
Related Articles
Apple Watch Integration
Introduction The Apple Watch integration enables researchers to seamlessly collect health data from participants while simultaneously gathering self-reported experience sampling data. This integration provides a detailed view of participants' ...UNIX Timestamps
How to Use the UNIX Timestamps Unix timestamp is a way to track time as a running total of seconds. It should also be pointed out that this point in time technically does not change no matter where you are located on the globe. In ExpiWell, you can ...