HCD 404 Module 2 Wearables Scenario Paper Example

Course	HCD 404 Advanced Concepts in Health Care Delivery
Module	Module 2
Paper type	Scenario paper
Length	About 432 words, 4 pages
Format	APA 7 student paper
School	Arizona State University
Program	BS in Health Care Administration and Policy
Updated	October 2026

Free sample paper for HCD 404 Module 2

Alerts and Step Counts: Should a Primary Care Practice Bring Wearables Into the Exam Room?

Student Name

BS in Health Care Administration and Policy, Arizona State University

HCD 404: Advanced Concepts in Health Care Delivery

Instructor Name

Month Day, Year

What this page is doingThe title names the two wearable uses the paper evaluates and frames the decision from the practice's point of view.

Alerts and Step Counts: Should a Primary Care Practice Bring Wearables Into the Exam Room?

The Scenario

A suburban primary care practice faces two requests. Patients increasingly arrive with smartwatch notifications of an irregular rhythm and want them reviewed. Separately, a large employer that contracts with the practice wants to give every employee in its weight management program an activity tracker and asks the practice to monitor the data.

Use One: Rhythm Notifications

Smartwatches with optical sensors can flag an irregular pulse that may indicate atrial fibrillation, a common rhythm disorder that raises stroke risk. In a study of 419,297 people without known atrial fibrillation, 0.52 percent received a notification over a median of 117 days. Among those who later wore an electrocardiogram patch, atrial fibrillation was found in 34 percent, and when an irregular pulse notification occurred while the patch was worn, atrial fibrillation was confirmed 84 percent of the time (Perez et al., 2019). These figures show that notifications are uncommon and often meaningful, but that many notified people will not have atrial fibrillation on later testing, and the study did not show that screening this way improves outcomes.

Use Two: Activity Trackers for Weight Loss

Activity trackers seem a natural addition to weight loss programs. A randomized trial tested this among 471 young adults in a behavioral weight loss program. After 24 months, those given a wearable device lost less weight, 3.5 kilograms on average, than those who self-monitored through a website, who lost 5.9 kilograms (Jakicic et al., 2016). The device did not add to the program and may have distracted from it.

What this page is doingReporting a trial in which the wearable group did worse is the evidence that keeps the paper from accepting the employer's assumption.

Risks

Consumer health wearables raise broader concerns about accuracy, data ownership and whether users sustain engagement (Piwek et al., 2016).

Risk	For patients	For the practice
False alarms	Anxiety and further testing	Visits and tests for notifications that prove benign
Data volume	Uncertainty about who watches the data	Liability if streams are monitored inconsistently
Privacy	Consumer devices are often outside HIPAA	Questions about storing device data in the record
Equity	Devices cost money	Programs may favor patients who already engage

Recommendation

For rhythm notifications, the practice should create a simple pathway: a nurse reviews the notification and symptoms, and patients at risk receive confirmatory testing with a clinical device. The practice should not promise to monitor watch data continuously. For the employer's program, the practice should decline to promise weight loss from trackers, offer them as optional tools within a proven behavioral program and agree to review summary data at scheduled visits rather than in real time. Both decisions should be revisited as evidence develops.

References

Jakicic, J. M., Davis, K. K., Rogers, R. J., King, W. C., Marcus, M. D., Helsel, D., Rickman, A. D., Wahed, A. S., & Belle, S. H. (2016). Effect of wearable technology combined with a lifestyle intervention on long-term weight loss: The IDEA randomized clinical trial. JAMA, 316(11), 1161-1171. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2016.12858

Perez, M. V., Mahaffey, K. W., Hedlin, H., Rumsfeld, J. S., Garcia, A., Ferris, T., Balasubramanian, V., Russo, A. M., Rajmane, A., Cheung, L., Hung, G., Lee, J., Kowey, P., Talati, N., Nag, D., Gummidipundi, S. E., Beatty, A., Hills, M. T., Desai, S., Granger, C. B., Desai, M., & Turakhia, M. P. (2019). Large-scale assessment of a smartwatch to identify atrial fibrillation. New England Journal of Medicine, 381(20), 1909-1917. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa1901183

Piwek, L., Ellis, D. A., Andrews, S., & Joinson, A. (2016). The rise of consumer health wearables: Promises and barriers. PLOS Medicine, 13(2), e1001953. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001953

HCD 404 Module 2 instructions, in plain terms

The Evaluating Wearables Scenario Paper is the second of HCD 404's two short scenario papers and carries 15 points. The posted objective it serves is to determine wearable health care technology's risks, uses and applications, and the matching course topic asks how wearable technology fits into the clinical experience. The scenario and rubric are posted in Canvas. Whatever device your scenario names, cover all three parts of the objective: what the device is used for, where it fits in care and what could go wrong. As with the telemedicine paper, close with a recommendation the people in the scenario could act on. Use the course materials on wearables as your framework and add peer-reviewed studies for evidence.

How this HCD 404 Module 2 example is built

Restating the scenario's two requests at the start, the sample evaluates each use against a major study: a large smartwatch study for rhythm notifications and a randomized trial for activity trackers in weight loss. Each evaluation reports the key numbers and explains what they mean for the practice. A table lists risks for patients and the practice, supported by a review of consumer wearables, and the recommendation gives a separate, practical response to each request. The paper stays within the evidence and notes that decisions should be revisited. The sample is careful to separate accuracy, how often a device is right, from benefit, whether using it improves health, a distinction graders look for.

HCD 404 Module 2 rubric: what earns full marks

The wearables paper earns up to 15 points on its Canvas rubric. Papers on wearable technology are generally credited for accurate descriptions of what devices can and cannot do, use of research evidence rather than marketing claims, attention to risks such as false alarms, privacy and equity, application to the clinical setting in the scenario and a clear, workable recommendation. Papers lose credit when they treat devices as diagnostic tools, when they ignore evidence of limited benefit and when the recommendation does not say who will review the data and when. Specific figures from studies, reported accurately with their limits, carry more weight than general claims about technology.

HCD 404 Module 2 help: mistakes that cost marks

Read beyond the headline of any study you cite; the smartwatch study, for example, gives the notification rate and, separately, the share later confirmed on a patch. Look for at least one randomized trial on outcomes, since device accuracy is not the same as patient benefit. Think about workflow: who sees the data, how often and what they do with it. Note whether consumer data fall under HIPAA. If your scenario uses a device you know little about, the desk can help you find trial evidence on it. Keep the recommendation realistic for a busy practice; a plan that requires constant monitoring is unlikely to be adopted.

Write yours, or have the desk draft it

This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Arizona State University document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.

More HCD 404 and BS in Health Care Administration and Policy sample papers

HCD 404 Module 2 questions, answered

Where can I find a free HCD 404 Module 2 sample paper?

A full HCD 404 Module 2 sample is on this page: a wearables scenario paper on smartwatch rhythm alerts and activity trackers in primary care.

Can a smartwatch detect atrial fibrillation?

It can flag an irregular pulse; in a study of over 400,000 users, 34% of notified participants who later wore an ECG patch had atrial fibrillation.

Do activity trackers help with weight loss?

In one two-year randomized trial, young adults given a wearable lost less weight than those who self-monitored online.

What are the risks of wearable health devices?

False alarms, unclear responsibility for monitoring data, privacy gaps outside HIPAA and unequal access.

How much is the HCD 404 wearables paper worth?

Fifteen points, matching the telemedicine paper; together the two papers make up 30 of 465.

HCD 404 Module 2 Evaluating Wearables Scenario Paper Example