Mississippi church leaders' perceptions of challenges and barriers to the use of consumer wearables among community members.

Background: Wearables have begun to play a transformative role in health management and disease prevention. Objective: This study examined the use of wearable devices in African American communities in Mississippi, USA, through the lens of church leaders. Methods: We conducted focus groups with church leaders to record their perceptions about the use of wearables of their community members. We conducted six focus groups with a total of 89 church leaders from across the state of Mississippi. The focus groups were designed to contextualize and explain the socio-cognitive processes that provided an understanding of wearable device adoption practices among community members. Participants were male and female church leaders who were recruited from the three Mississippi Districts. The church leaders' perceptions of barriers and challenges to the adoption of consumer wearables in their communities were thoroughly analyzed using thematic analysis. Results: There was great apprehension on the part of community members about the security of the information they entered into the wearable devices and about how that information could be used by other parties. Many community members who understood the value of proactive health behaviors could not afford the high cost of purchasing wearable devices, while others displayed a low level of comfort with technology, believing that wearable use was for younger people. Conclusion: More expansive adoption of wearable devices in Mississippi will depend on the ability of the public health professionals, policy-makers and manufacturers to address the barriers that were identified by this study, thereby enabling the community to have full access to the potential benefits of these technologies.