Harnessing social networks to personalize sensor-driven, just-in-time physical activity interventions for individuals with spinal cord injury

The goal of this project is to conduct participatory design process with individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) and their peers (friends or family members) to extend a pilot just-in-time adaptive intervention (JITAI) into a socially engaging JITAI system that can be deployed in the community. Just-in-time adaptive intervention (JITAI) systems are a subgroup of smartphone-based technology interventions now being evaluated which may improve health-related outcomes in individuals with disability. JITAI systems automatically detect physical activities (PAs) from wearable sensors and provide near-real-time feedback to promote health and wellness. However, these JITAI technologies are being developed without guidelines on how to make them engaging specifically for people with disabilities. People with disabilities such as individuals with SCI who use manual wheelchairs for mobility must overcome significant physiological and environmental barriers to participate in PA interventions in their communities. Thus, JITAIs that target the general population may not be appropriate for some populations with disability without significant design modifications. Outcomes of this project include generating new knowledge about individual and interpersonal needs for JITAI systems in individuals with SCI who use manual wheelchairs.