Identifying and Evaluating Wearables to be Integrated in the Enhanced Recovery Program

This project explores the potential of wearable stress-monitoring devices to support wellbeing and recovery by combining objective physiological data with subjective self-reports. Conducted as part of the Enhanced Recovery Program, the study focused on evaluating the a handheld biosensor that measures electrodermal activity (EDA) to infer stress levels.

The device was tested with students participating in the “Pawsitive Thinking – Walk My Dog” wellbeing initiative at the University of Brighton, which promotes stress reduction and emotional wellbeing through animal-assisted activities. Participants used the PIP device before and after the sessions to measure changes in stress and to compare objective readings with their own self-assessed stress levels.

The study aimed to determine whether the PIP could provide reliable, real-time indicators of stress that align with subjective experiences, and to evaluate its usability in a non-clinical, wellbeing-oriented environment. Insights from this work contribute to understanding how wearable biosensors can be meaningfully integrated into recovery and wellbeing programmes, bridging physiological data with personal experience to enhance individualised support and recovery strategies.

The study found that the device was easy to use and well accepted by participants in the wellbeing activity. Objective data from the device showed a clear reduction in physiological stress levels following the “Pawsitive Thinking – Walk My Dog” sessions, which aligned with participants’ self-reported decreases in stress. These findings suggest that the biosensor can provide a reliable and user-friendly method for capturing short-term changes in stress within wellbeing and recovery programmes.