Why is this study being done?

This study aims to collect survey data on everyday emotional experiences from a large sample population, matched with passive data collected from smartphones and smartwatches, to shed light on the dynamics and determinants of wellbeing in daily life.

Who is being invited to participate?

Anyone who is over the age of 18, proficient in English, owns or can obtain an iOS or Android smartphone, and who does not have a neurological condition that hinders them in daily life is welcome to participate. Ideally, we also encourage those who own or can obtain Garmin smartwatches to join the study. At least 10,000 participants primarily from Europe and North America are expected to join.

What should I know before joining?

The details of this research study will be explained to you. Whether or not you take part is up to you. You can choose not to take part. You can agree to take part and later change your mind. Your decision will not be held against you. You may discuss your decision with your family, your friends and/or your doctor. You can ask all the questions you want before you decide.

How long will the study last?

The study will last for a period of 8 weeks. Participation is voluntary and you can choose to drop out anytime. Towards the end of the study period, you will also be asked to indicate your willingness to be contacted for future studies.

What will participation entail?

The project includes the use of a smartphone app. The app has been developed and used for research purposes by Avicenna with our collaborator Prof. Nathaniel Osgood and colleagues at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada. Avicenna has already been used in many scientific studies around the world. The app enables the collection of data from surveys:

• A baseline survey at the beginning of the study (5-7 minutes)

• Short daily surveys 1 to 3 times per day (<1 minute each)

• Slightly longer surveys once per week (2-3 minutes each)

• An exit survey at the end of the study (5-7 minutes)

You will also be asked to share data from your smartphone and Garmin smartwatch (if you have one). More detailed information about the data that we collect is provided below.

Is there any way being in this study could be bad for me?

There are no significant physical or psychological risks involved with this study. However, if you may have adverse reactions to being asked to complete short surveys about your wellbeing and daily activities, you may wish not to participate. If you experience any distress throughout the course of study or wish to seek mental health care or support for any reason, a list of available resources, helplines, and medical healthcare professionals in your home country will be accessible via a link displayed in the smartphone application you will be asked to download at all times.

Will being in this study help me in any way?

You may benefit from becoming more conscious of the types of activities and behaviors that are most important for your individual wellbeing. Upon request, you will also have to option to receive an individualized report at the end of the study period documenting trends and trajectories in your wellbeing.

What happens if I do not want to be in this research?

Participation in research is voluntary. You can decide to participate, not to participate, or stop participation at any time without penalty. You can drop out of the study anytime in the settings tab of the Avicenna smartphone application linked above.

What happens if I say yes, but I change my mind later?

You can leave the research at any time it will not be held against you.

Has this research undergone ethics review?

This research has been reviewed by a Harvard Longwood Campus Institutional Review Board (IRB) at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health. If you wish to speak with someone from the IRB, you may contact the Office of Regulatory Affairs and Research Compliance (ORARC) at irb@hsph.harvard.edu or 617-432-2157 (toll-free at 1-866-606-0573) for any of the following:

• If your questions, concerns, or complaints are not being answered by the research team,

• If you cannot reach the research team,

• If you want to talk to someone besides the research team,

• If you have questions about your rights as a research participant, or

• If you want to get information or provide input about this research.

All of our data protocols and procedures have also been reviewed and approved by the Harvard Kennedy School, the University of Warwick, and the University of Saskatchewan.

Will I be compensated for participating in this research?

Throughout the course of the study, all participants in Europe and North America will be eligible to receive discounts on Garmin products depending on their level of participation:

• Milestone 1: Participants who respond to the baseline survey will receive a 10% discount on a Garmin smartwatch. Available to participants in Europe and North America for any Garmin smartwatch excluding the MARQ series. This discount code must be redeemed by June 30, 2025 to qualify for the cash back reward at the end of the study.

• Milestone 2: Participants who respond to at least 10 surveys will be entered into a raffle to win 1 of 20 free Garmin Venu 3 smartwatches. Available to participants in Europe and North America who enroll in the study by June 15, 2025.

• Milestone 3: Participants who respond to at least 5 surveys per week for 4 weeks will receive a 20% discount on a Garmin smart scale or accessory. Available to participants in Europe and North America for a smart scale or heart rate monitor (Index S2 Smart Scale, Index BPM, or HRM Series). Must be redeemed until July 31st 2025.

• Milestone 4: Participants who respond to at least 5 surveys per week for 8 weeks will receive a wellbeing report and $75 cash back on any purchase of a Garmin smartwatch made with the first discount code. Available to participants in Europe and North America for any Garmin smartwatch purchase made with the first discount code over $199. Cash back rewards delivered automatically to original payment method within 21 days of completing the study.

Additional details regarding each incentive, discount codes, and wellbeing reports will be available in automatically generated participant webpages available on the home screen of the Health and Happiness application. Elligible countries include: United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Spain, Finland, France, Croatia, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Latvia, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, and Slovenia.

What will I have to pay for if I participate in this research?

It will not cost you anything to participate in this research.

How is this research being funded?

The study is funded by academic grants applied for and awarded to the research team from Harvard University, the University of Saskatchewan, and Warwick Business School. Neither Garmin nor Avicenna is providing any financial support for the study. All research is conducted independently so as to preserve academic and research integrity. The research team does not receive any financial compensation from Garmin or Avicenna. No institutional or academic partner outside of the core research team has any direct influence or impact on the study results, interpretation, or publicaton.

What kinds of data will be collected throughout the course of the study?

Throughout the course of the study, you will be asked to consent to share data collected from three sources:

• Smartwatch data: If you agree to participate in this study, data will be automatically collected on a daily basis from your Garmin smartwatch via the Garmin Health API. The following is an exhaustive list of Garmin data that may be collected throughout the course of the study. Depending on your device, some variables may not be collected:

  • Steps, distance, timed activity details, motion intensity, calories, BMR calories, body composition, intensity minutes moderate, intensity minutes vigorous, floors climbed, heart rate, heart rate variability overnight, wheelchair pushes, blood pressure, stress levels, stress score, sleep (advanced), VO2 max, fitness age, respiration, body battery, health snapshot, and pulse ox.

• Smartphone data: If you agree to participate in this study, these data will be automatically collected from your iOS or Android device on a daily basis:

  • Screen time, battery status, and GPS location.

• Survey data: If you agree to participate in this study, you will be asked to complete 3 daily surveys on your wellbeing and daily activities. Daily surveys will include only a few questions and take 1 to 2 minutes to complete. Weekly surveys will also be administered which may include a few additional questions and take 3 to 5 minutes to complete. You will also be asked to complete baseline and exit surveys that will take 5 to 7 minutes to complete. In these surveys, you will be asked about the following:

  • Life satisfaction, life meaning, domain satisfaction, positive and negative affect, gender, country, employment status, occupation, industry, educational attainment, objective physical health, subjective physical health, marital status, household size, number of children, social networks, income, social environment, physical environment, daily activities, sleep quality, loneliness, and mental health.

No smartphone, smartwatch, or survey data will ever be collected without your explicit consent and approval. You can decide to stop sharing data, stop responding to surveys, or drop out of the study at any time. If you decide to drop out of the study, you may choose to delete all of your data that was collected.

If I take part in this research, how will my privacy be protected? What happens to the information you collect?

All data collected from daily surveys, smartphones, and smartwatches will be encrypted, anonymized, and stored on secure servers. Data will be matched using privacy-protected anonymized IDs. Only authorized members research team and administrators at Avicenna will have access to the data collected throughout the course of the study. All Avicenna servers are located behind a firewall. Confidentiality will be maintained by numerically coding data, by de-identifying data, and by keeping all data in locked file drawers and in a password-protected electronic database. The research team will never have access to personally identifiable data. Any personally identifiable data (e.g., emails) collected or maintained by Avicenna or Garmin will be kept strictly confidential and separate from the research team. Any identifying data about the device (meta-data) is stored on a separate server to which researchers have no access. Meta-data will be destroyed as soon as the project is completed. Any data downloaded from the Avicenna platform by the research team will be stored at university facilities in password-protected computer files. The research team will only have access to the coded survey information that will be transmitted over secure internet channels. There is always the risk of breach of confidentiality. To mitigate this risk, all authorized members of the research team are trained in data safety and security protocols and procedures.

All reports and subsequent publications documenting the outcomes of this study will also be presented in an anonymized fashion as aggregate statistics and averages. No identifiable information will ever be made public, nor shared with Garmin or any other institutional partner. If identifiers are removed from your identifiable private information or identifiable samples that are collected during this research, that information or those samples could be used for future research studies or distributed to another investigator for future research studies without your additional informed consent.

Who can I talk to about this study?

If you have additional questions, concerns, or complaints, you can reach the research team directly at any time:

• Laura Marciano – lmarciano (at) hsph.harvard.edu

• Micah Kaats – mkaats (at) g.harvard.edu