JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

An estimated one in three adults experience a major traumatic event in their lifetime. How an individual responds to such an event is highly variable, with many experiencing post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) in the initial three months following the event, and some going on to develop more long-term issues, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Recognising the progression into these different trajectories via wrist-wearables may offer promise for early risk stratification and intervention.

Objective:

To investigate the feasibility of incorporating wearable digital phenotyping into the monitoring of PTSS during the acute post-trauma period.

Methods:

This observational pilot study will recruit 50 participants who have recently experienced a single-event trauma. The study will operate a Bring Your Own Garmin watch approach to collect physiological and behavioural data over 84 days. Questionnaires focused on trauma-related outcomes will also be completed on a weekly and monthly basis during the study period. Statistical analyses will be used to align the questionnaire and wearable data, and machine learning approaches will assess the feasibility of using this wearable data to predict different post-trauma trajectories.

Results:

Recruitment for the study will begin in January 2027, and data collection will occur on a rolling basis with a planned overall completion data of October 2027.

Conclusions:

Despite extensive knowledge on PTSD, the acute post-trauma period remains a limited area of research. Although largely preliminary, a range of promising findings associate wearable data with PTSD symptoms, such as decreased heart rate variability (HRV), increased sleep disruption, and overall blunting of circadian rhythm. Nevertheless, few have applied passive sensing to trauma responses prior to a mental health diagnosis, despite their relatively well-defined trajectories in research, such as recovery, PTSD, or even post-traumatic growth. This feasibility study will explore the potential of applying digital phenotyping to this sector, acting as a methodological guideline for future research and outlining wearable tracking approaches to risk stratification in trauma-exposed populations.