Real-time sensing of war's effects on wellbeing with smartphones and smartwatches.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Modern wars have a catastrophic effect on the wellbeing of civilians. However, the nature of this effect remains unclear, with most insights gleaned from subjective, retrospective studies.

Methods

We prospectively monitored 954 Israelis (>40 years) from two weeks before the May 2021 Israel-Gaza war until four weeks after the ceasefire using smartwatches and a dedicated mobile application with daily questionnaires on wellbeing. This war severely affected civilians on both sides, where over 4300 rockets and missiles were launched towards Israeli cities, and 1500 aerial, land, and sea strikes were launched towards 16,500 targets in the Gaza Strip.

Results

We identify considerable changes in all the examined wellbeing indicators during missile attacks and throu

SUBMITTER: Mofaz M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10109229 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature